The Hidden Hand
by King Hawke
Summary: sequel to Shinobi Halloween
1. Chapter 1

The Hidden Hand

Disclaimer: We don't own Buffy or Naruto characters.

A young blonde woman wanders through the park. The night air makes her shiver and she whimpers pitifully about being out late. A vampire slowly creeps up and grins. "Are you lost?" he asks from behind her.

She turns around and smiles, "Yes, I am. Can you help me?"

"Help you? I will help you," he says as he grabs her wrists. "I'll help you die!" She screams as he pulls her close and bites onto her neck. He sucks in and smoke flows into his mouth instead of blood. The girl smirks and pops into a cloud of smoke.

A blonde boy with whisker marks on his cheeks and a metal protector on his forehead steps out from behind a tree. "That's the fourth one tonight!" he exclaims.

A nearby bush poofs into a twin of the boy and states, "That's right! He fell right into our trap."

The vampire snarls, "Who are you?"

A rock a few feet behind him poofs into yet another identical blonde. "Who? Us?"

A fourth boy jumps out of the tree and says, "We're Andrew Uzumaki! Hey, Jon, do you want him?"

Out from behind a nearby tree steps a dark haired young man wearing shorts, a metal forehead protector, white shorts, and a t-shirt. His legs have weapon holders strapped to them. He stares at the vampire with pupil less eyes. "You can have him. I got the last two."

A dark haired girl crosses her arms and leans against the merry-go-round. "Just kill him already! I'm tired and want to go home." Fishnet clothing covers her body and is barely concealed by a long trench coat.

"Let's get him!" shouts the original Andrew. They all draw a kunai and yell, "Right!" They charge in and throw kunais at him. He is stunned by the number of Andrews and gets stabbed in the shoulders and both knees.

The vampire pulls a kunai from his shoulder and growls at the incoming blondes menacingly. He jabs his elbow into a clone, dispelling it, than twirls around and stabs a second Andrew in the head, making it poof out of existence. A second later, several kunai with wires connected to them flies past him and pins him to a tree. He drops the kunai as he is slammed against the bark. "We have him!" shout the last two Andrews as one poofs into smoke. "Want to know how we did that?" he grins.

Before he can start monologuing in technobabble, the girl walks up to the vampire, pushes Andrew to the side, and a snake lashes out of her sleeves. The snake opens its mouth and a wooden stake sprouts out, flying into the heart of the trapped creature. The vampire explodes into fiery ash.

"Hey, Faith! That was my kill!" whines Andrew.

She twirls to him and glares, "I am tired, we have school tomorrow, and I don't want to listen to another one of your long winded speeches!" He opens his mouth to protest when the snake's hissing warns him to be silent.

"You know, we are ninja. We can get to school on time even if we sleep in," Jonathan points out calmly.

She growls, "Shut up, Hyuga!" He shuts his mouth and she storms past him. The boys glance at each other and shrug before following her.

**Sunnydale High, the Next Morning:**

Buffy, Xander, and Willow stroll through the hallway on their way to the library. "Hey, is that you, Buffy?" calls a voice from behind them. They each hover their fingertips over their hidden weapons as they turn around.

Buffy's eyes widen. "Ford? Is that you?" They give each other a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was in the neighborhood and thought, I remember that beautiful Buffy Summers. I wonder how she's doing?" Ford says mock seriously. Willow and Xander exchange a look and subtly nod.

Buffy raises an eyebrow, "Ford, Sunnydale is quite a ways from LA."

He sighs dramatically, "Fine! You caught me. My dad transferred from LA to Sunnydale on business reasons and I came with him. So here I am!"

"Are you a student here now?" Willow inquires politely.

"Yes, I am," smiles Ford. "Speaking of which, I had better get to class! I don't know my way around very well yet, and I need to find all my classes. I was actually on the way to the principal's office to get the class schedule."

Xander pipes up, "Before you leave, you two knew each other?" He glances at his friend curiously.

"We went to school together before I moved here," Buffy explains.

Ford grins, "And it's always nice to know someone remembers me. What are your names?"

Buffy points to them as she speaks, "This is my friend Xander and my friend Willow."

He shakes Xander's hand and smiles, "Nice to meet you."

"We were on our way to the library," Willow says calmly. "We need to finish up a last minute project." A chill goes down Ford's back as an ominous feeling washes over him.

Xander takes Willow's hand and her killer intent immediately dissipates. Ford says quickly, "Oh yeah! Classes! I'll see you all later! Maybe we'll have some of the same classes!" He walks down the hallway and disappears around the corner.

Buffy's smile disappears the instant he is gone. "He's hiding something."

"Glad you noticed," Xander remarks casually. "Should we keep an eye on him?"

Buffy shrugs, "I don't think so, but this is Sunnydale after all. You can never be too careful. We'll tell Giles about him." Xander agrees and they continue on their way to the library, letting go of Willow's hand in the process, much to her disappointment.

"We got him holding our hand! Cha!" shouts Inner Willow. Willow blushes and mutters under her breath, "Shut up!"

"Did you say something?" Xander asks idly.

Willow blushes more, "No, nothing!"

They arrive to the library and enter. Giles sits at a table with Faith standing across from him with her teammates on either side of her. The librarian nods to them when they enter and tells Faith, "Please come back later. I would like to run one or two more tests."

"More tests?" Faith says irritably.

Giles cleans his glasses, careful not to break them with his new strength. "If you ever want to find out what happened to give you your strange new abilities, aside from the spell, we need to run another test. I promise this will be the last one."

She sighs and nods, "Fine. But only one more test!" She stalks from the room unhappily with Jonathan and Andrew at her side.

"Buffy, Willow, Xander, what are you doing here?" Giles asks them. Buffy explains the situation with Ford and the other two teenagers give their perspectives and opinions on the topic. Giles goes into what has been known among the Scoobies as "Jiriaya mode", and says gravely, "I'll put Angel on his tail, since his schedule seems to have been freed up now that he's human again."

Xander smirks, "My thoughts exactly. Speaking of which, Angel, get out here! I would call you dead boy, but you had to go and turn yourself human." His sharingan swirls as he stares at a remote corner of the library.

A genjutsu wavers in the corner of the room and reveals a masked Angel. "How did you know I was here?" he inquires curiously.

"Do you honestly think that we could be your students for this long and not notice you being around?" Willow replies.

He shrugs, "Good point. I'll get right on it." His hand reaches for his pocket. When he feels the burning gaze of his girlfriend on his hand, he slowly lowers it back to his side and does the hand sign for shushin. He vanishes in a swirl of leaves.

"Don't you have class today?" Giles asks as he turns back to the teens.

Xander sighs loudly, "Come on! We can pass these classes with flying colors!"

"Than you should have no problem doing so," Giles replies smoothly.

The dark haired boy grunts, "Hm."

"And once again, the universal Uchiha phrase is born," giggles Willow.

Xander crosses his arms and responds playfully, "You aren't helping, Wills!"

"Than I'll help!" says Buffy cheerfully. "You are not nearly as much of a pain in the rear as Sasuke Uchiha was and your personality is an improvement to any Uchiha."

Giles groans and rubs his eyes, "Just go!" The ninja smirk to each other and leave the room.

**Sunnydale High Library after School Ends:**

Buffy lets out a deep breath with her eyes closed. Both her hands clench the metal fan tightly. She takes in another breath, than starts going through katas with her fan. Xander ignores her as he reads an ancient Chinese book on strategy, written by an old Chinese general. Willow types away at a computer, researching anything she can about Buffy's old acquaintance.

Faith leans over the table and glares at Giles dangerously. "Am I done now?"

"Yes, Faith, you are done," Giles says calmly, not phased by her glare in the least. "You can go now." Faith turns to leave when Giles snaps, "The perimeter seals just went off." Buffy tosses her fan to Xander who catches it with ease and hides it behind a bookshelf, his Sharingan deactivating as he closes his book. Willow continues working on the research.

Faith shrugs and leaves with her two teammates, who are now commonly seen at her side. She pushes the doors open and storms past Ford, who looks surprised. "Hey, Buffy!" waves Ford as he nears her. "I didn't see you in class today."

"I guess we don't have any of the same classes," Buffy replies pleasantly.

Ford scratches his head, "Yeah, It would seem so. Um…I feel sort of stupid for asking this, but do you know any fun places to go around here? I'm new in town, and don't know where everything is."

Buffy scratches her chin and says thoughtfully, "I can't think of anything like that except the Bronze. It's where all the teens in town go to hang out. I could come over to your house and walk you there later."

"No thanks!" he says quickly, hiding a nervous smile, though the ninja can still tell it is there. "I think it would be best if you just gave me directions and I meet you there." Xander's gaze shifts to Willow, who is still typing away. Ford thanks Buffy for her help and leaves.

Giles frowns, "So that's who Ford is. I'm curious as to why he wouldn't let you visit his home."

Buffy grabs her coat from a chair and replies, "That's what I'm going to find out." She exits the library silently after Xander returns her fan.

**Several Hours Later:**

Buffy had followed Ford back to a hotel instead of a house. She kept her distance and saw through his window that he was talking on the phone with someone, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. He went to the rendezvous point and entered the Bronze. She stares after him for a few seconds before sprinting to a window and sliding in with practiced ease, meeting him inside.

"I'm glad you could make it! I hope I didn't make the directions too confusing," Buffy says cheerfully.

Ford winks at her, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Hey, Buffy," calls Cordelia from across the room as she carefully makes her way towards them. "Who's your friend? I haven't seen him around here before."

Ford shakes her hand, "I'm Ford. I just moved here from LA."

Cordelia catches Buffy's warning glance and smiles, "I see. Well, I got to go talk to the groupies. See you two later!" She heads off towards the waiting group of guys that she left behind.

Buffy looks around and spots Willow and Xander chatting at a table. Her gaze continues searching and she notices Oz playing in the band, his gourd leaning against a speaker on stage. She raises an eyebrow at Larry dancing across the floor with a beautiful young woman, who coincidentally has no chakra, the same hair color and body structure of his puppet, and is dancing in perfect sync with him.

She makes her way over to her friends' table with Ford. "How's the soda?" she asks them while she sits down.

Xander frowns teasingly, "I have to say, it is alittle on the fizzy side. They never get these drinks down perfectly!"

"Xander, you're drinking from a soda can," Willow points out.

"And?!" Xander says indignantly. Ford looks at him weird while the two girls just sigh and shake their heads. Inner Willow is laughing hysterically.

Buffy looks over at Ford, "Do you want anything?"

He nods, "I think I'll have a Sprite." Buffy leaves the table and goes to the soda bar. She jumps when Angel steps next to her.

"Anything interesting happening tonight, love?" he mutters in her ear.

Buffy scowls at him, "Don't startle me like that!"

He smirks, "You're a shinobi. Detect me." She notices that both eyes are normal and uncovered.

"Are you wearing a genjutsu?" she inquires.

He nods, "Yeah, and most people won't detect it. It's very handy. Why were you following Ford? I thought I was assigned to him."

"Not now, Angel," she says, looking over her shoulder at Ford. She waits for the soda to arrive. Ford sees her look at him and takes it as a signal to come over. "Angel, this is Ford. Ford, Angel," she introduces them.

The young man takes Angel's hand and shakes it. There is an audible crunch. "Nice grip you got there," winces Ford.

Angel smirks like Kakashi would, only without his mask, "I know."

Ford pulls his hand back, shaking it slightly. "Buffy, I didn't know you were into older guys," he remarks.

She blushes, "Ford!"

"So you're not into older guys?" Angel asks playfully.

She glares at both of them. "Conspiring against me is not very nice!"

Ford and Angel exchange glances. Ford asks, "Did you ever claim to be nice?"

Angel shakes his head, "Nope. Did you?"

Ford shakes his head slowly, "Not that I can remember." They both look back at Buffy. "Sorry, Buffy, but nice just isn't in the job description."

"There's a job description?" Buffy says with a quirked eyebrow. They nod simultaneously with matching smirks. "What's the job?"

Ford leans in close to her, "Can you keep a secret?" She nods quickly. He whispers, "So can I." She punches his shoulder irritably. "Ouch!" he exclaims.

She glares darkly at both of them again. "Not. Nice." He rubs his aching shoulder. She grunts and grabs the drinks, heading back to the table.

Angel and Ford look at each other. "Did we do something wrong?" Ford inquires.

Angel sighs, "Beats me! I've never understood girls." They both walk back to the table.

Once they get back to the table, Ford begins telling embarrassing stories about Buffy from school. "And then there was the beauty pageant—" Ford says.

"That's enough, Ford!" she exclaims with her face beet red.

Xander smirks, "Ah, come on, Buffy. He was just getting to the good part!"

"I'm putting my foot down," Buffy states crossly. She glances at her watch, "I'm going to start heading home. It's getting late."

Willow and Xander both nod. "Yeah," Willow replies. "I think I'm going to go home too." Xander agrees.

"Nice seeing you all again," Ford says amiably. The group goes their separate ways, Buffy walking home with Ford, Buffy insisting on seeing him home.

Buffy senses three vampires in an alley that they are passing. She tells Ford, "Stay here. I'll be right back." She runs around the street corner and jumps onto the roof. The ninja sprints across the roof and drops into the alley between the vampires. "Why are you guys still in town?" she asks idly. "Haven't you heard that Sunnydale isn't safe at night?"

"It's the Slayer!" growls a vampire.

A second vampire snarls, "Kill her!" Two vampires charge from the front while the last one attacks from the back. She side kicks him in midair, sending him flying against the wall. She spins around and turns the first vampire's fist to the side. She grips his fist, pulling him forward and pulls a stake from her coat, staking him in the back. He explodes into fiery dust as she jabs the stake into the second vampire's heart that was coming strait at her. She turns back to the one that is slowly getting up. The former Slayer spins the stake between her fingers with expert ease and sends it sailing into his heart, pinning him to the ground. The ash settles to the ground to reveal Ford watching from the alley's entrance.

"What did you just do?" he asks curiously.

She looks around at her surroundings, "Uh…I just scared away some alley cats! They really should be at animal shelters."

"Really? It looked to me like you were killing a few vampires," he says casually. Ford sees her panicked look and smiles, "It's okay, Buffy! I know that you're the Vampire Slayer."

She stares at him for a few seconds before snapping out of her daze. "How on earth did you know that?"

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	2. Chapter 2

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Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

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Recap: _"Really? It looked to me like you were killing a few vampires," he says casually. Ford sees her panicked look and smiles, "It's okay, Buffy! I know that you're the Vampire Slayer."_

_She stares at him for a few seconds before snapping out of her daze. "How on earth did you know that?" _End Recap

"Well I was there when you burned down the gym, Buffy. Those guys didn't look like normal people!" he explains.

She says quickly, "They were gang members on PCP!"

"Buffy, do I look stupid to you?" he says flatly.

She mutters, "It works on the people here." Louder, she says, "When did you figure it out?"

"About the same time that the 'gang members' started exploding into dust when they caught on fire," he says, crossing his arms. "At first I couldn't believe it, but gradually accepted that I wasn't going crazy. I even did some research and that was when I came across vampire slayers. I put two and two together when I saw that and got--"

Buffy answers, "Four?"

"No, that you were the Slayer," he finishes.

Buffy frowns, "You're not going to tell anybody, are you?"

Ford smiles, "Who would believe me? Besides, it took me awhile to figure this all out. I wouldn't want to make your life any harder than it already is."

"That's good to know," Buffy nods. "Shall we continue to the house?"

Ford nods quickly, "We shall!"

**Ten Minutes Later: **

Buffy looks up at the large house. "So this is where you live?"

"Yep, this is it," Ford replies. "Sorry that I can't invite you in, but my dad has to get up early for work."

Buffy smiles, "Oh, it's okay. I have to go on patrols anyways." They wave goodbye to each other and part ways.

Ford calls after her, "Keep safe!"

"That's my job!" Buffy calls back as she walks away. She passes a tree and glances over using her peripheral vision to see Angel, complete with mask. He nods from the shadow of the oak. She looks back ahead and keeps walking.

Ford waits until she gets out of sight and walks back down the steps of the dark house and strolls away, unaware that he is being watched. He walks to the slums of Sunnydale and knocks on the door of an old bomb shelter. "Ford," he calls. The door opens and a girl welcomes him in.

Angel looks down from the roof across the street and watches him enter. He drops to the ground and goes over to knock on the door. The door opens and he reveals his twirling sharingan. "May I come in?" he says politely. The girl stands in a daze as he pushes past her. "Thanks," he says, closing the door behind him.

He climbs down the stairwell cautiously. Once he gets to the bottom of the stairs he looks around at the darkly clothed youths roaming the area. "Oh great, one of these," he mutters, putting up a henge over his face.

"Oh, you're here to visit the lonely ones!" a girl exclaims in greeting.

Angel quirks an eyebrow under the henge, "The lonely ones?"

"Yes! Vampires of course! They are poor lonely souls!" she says passionately.

He smiles, "Of course they are." He thinks bitterly, 'What a fool.' Angel excuses himself and moves deeper into the club. He spots Ford talking to two of his friends. Angel strolls to a corner, glancing around to make sure nobody is paying attention, and casts a minor genjutsu to hide his presence. He then cautiously approaches the group.

Ford says, "I've been trying to find some vampires to make the deal with, but none seem to be around, thanks to the Slayer. I was told that this place was the hotspot for vampires! Did you have any luck?" One shakes his head while the other nods.

"I found one that says he'll do it for the Slayer," the other young man explains.

Ford nods, "I've earned her trust. I'll get her there alone. After that, we'll live forever!" The three high five each other. Angel frowns and thinks, 'I need to report this.' He slips out of the club, nobody being the wiser.

He flips open his cell phone once he gets out of sight and calls the library. "Yes, this is Mister Giles speaking," the voice says.

Angel says, "Hey, Giles, Ford plans to sell out Buffy tomorrow night to some vampires in order to gain immortality."

"I'll let her know," Giles replies. "Rendezvous with tonight's patrol and see if they can find out which remaining vampires are left around to make the deal with."

"Will do. Angel, out," he responds, closing the cell phone. He stares at it for a few seconds and mutters, "I love these things." He pockets it and disappears.

**Next Morning, Sunnydale Library:**

"He what?!" Buffy shouts.

Spike groans and whispers, "Not so loud! I have a hangover!"

"You shouldn't have been drinking on patrol," Giles points out.

Spike glares at him, "You try being a vampire for a few hundred years, become human again, than don't get drunk the first chance you get!"

Giles turns his attention back to Buffy, "Please tone it down, Buffy."

"I can't believe he'd do that to me!" she yells, pacing back and forth in front of Giles' desk. "I thought he liked me, but he's turning me in to vampires! What is he thinking?"

"Apparently, not much," Angel says dryly, leaning against the wall with a book in his hand.

She glares at him dangerously, "What are you reading, sweetie?"

He holds up the book to show her what he's reading.

"_The True History of the Ninja of Ancient Japan_?" she reads out loud.

Angel smiles under his mask, "It's very interesting, actually. I've always been curious about the differences between the Naruto ninja and the real world ones, plus I had to fill the lack of the Icha series with something."

Buffy looks at him for a long moment before smiling in agreement, "Good! It's about time you stopped reading that smut!" She turns back to glare at Giles, "So what are we going to do about that traitor?"

Giles rubs his chin thoughtfully, "Play along and we'll have your team back you up. Kendra's team will replace you as the backup team for the night. I'll leave it up to you and your team as to how the details will be carried out."

**A Few Hours Later Near the Club: **

Ford smiles at Buffy, "Don't worry, I think my friends will really like you."

"I hope so," Buffy says with an innocent smile. Ford smirks inwardly at the brilliance of his plan. He holds the door open for her and they walk in. Buffy walks down the stairs into the basement where the club members are. Ford follows her and as soon as he reaches the bottom of the staircase, the thick metal doors slam shut. She glances back at the door and turns her gaze back to her old friend.

Ford smirks, "My friends will be here soon."

"These aren't your friends?" Buffy asks, gesturing to the other teenagers there. He shakes his head slowly.

Ford waves towards a chair, "Sit there, Buffy. My friends will arrive soon, and they are anxious to meet you."

**On the Roof:**

Warren and Larry exchange grins. "Now we wait," Warren states.

**A Few Minutes Later:**

Larry leans forward and looks down at the group of six heading towards the door. Larry and Warren sense their chakra and Larry comments, "These guys must be new in town to be in the open like this and in such numbers. The stories about us must not be getting out."

"It is hard for stories to get out when we kill every vampire we see and leave no survivors," Warren points out.

Larry nods, his fingers twitching from lack of chakra strings connected to them, "Good point." The vampires look around the street and file into the building.

The football player moves to go after them but Warren restrains him with a hand. "Wait a few minutes, than we follow. You know our orders," Warren says quickly. Larry shrugs off his restraining hand and sits down, staring at his watch.

"Just a few minutes," Larry murmurs impatiently. After the few minutes are up, Larry drops to the street and sneaks into the building, followed closely by his teammate.

They reach the metal doors and Warren says smugly, "How convenient. They left the locks on the outside."

Larry frowns, "I was hoping to be able to practice my lock picking skills." Warren shakes his head and opens the door. They both walk into the room.

**A Few Minutes Before Larry and Warren Come In:**

The vampires stroll into the room, closing it behind them. "Which one of you is the Slayer?" the vampire boss calls.

Ford points to Buffy, "That's her."

Buffy stares at him calmly, "Ford, what are you doing?" The vampires put on their game faces, shocking the people there.

Another vampire remarks, "A weak Slayer and all of these happy meals." Buffy rises to her feet and snaps out a small fan.

"What are you going to do with that, blow on us?" sneers a vampire.

Buffy smiles and waves the fan in his direction hard while shouting, "Wind Style: Wind Tunnel Jutsu!" She reaches around and slides three wooden sebon needles from the back of her belt. The smart aleck vampire gets launched into the air and rammed into the concrete wall by a concentrated gust of wind. It slices up his chest, shredding the muscles and skin around his heart. A sebon needle flies from between her fingers, through the air, and into his heart. The vampire explodes into a cloud of fiery ash. Everyone looks back at the Slayer to see her arms crossed in front of her in an X shape with two sebon in one hand and the fan in the other.

Buffy says calmly, "You know, Ford, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." Ford looks at her in confusion. "I found out about this trap earlier, but I hoped you wouldn't go through with it."

Ford says loudly, "How did you find out?"

"I have my ways," she says coldly.

Larry walks into the room with Warren and says loudly, "Buffy, I can't believe you started the fun without us! You said you'd wait!"

Buffy rolls her eyes, "It's not my fault. They started the mess before you arrived."

Warren glances over the vampires with disgust and inquires, "Can we just kill these weaklings and get it over with?"

"Who are you calling weak, punk?" a vampire shouts. He and his buddy charge at Warren and Larry and bite them on the neck. Warren turns into mud, splashing all over the vampire while Larry stiffens then slowly grins as his arms clamp around him. The skin slowly starts to melt off his face. The vampires spit out the mud and splinters. The one being held by Larry shouts, "How did you do that?"

One of the two bundles on Larry's back opens and Larry jumps out, chakra strings glowing at his fingertips. The skin falls completely off the first Larry to reveal Ant. It opens up and strings lash out, wrap around the vampire, and pull him in. Blades spin across and ash poofs out the bottom of Ant.

While Larry kills his opponent, Warren appears behind the mud-covered vampire at his right shoulder and holds the Grass Cutter to his throat, the other hand resting on the back of his head. Warren states solemnly, "I told you I don't like dealing with weak ones." He slices his neck while pushing the head forehead in a single motion, beheading the vampire before it can blink. He quickly steps back to avoid getting covered in dust.

The remaining three vampires stare at the newcomers in shock. One of the vampires slowly turns to the boss and growls, "You said the Slayer always works alone!"

"She always does, other than that Watcher!" the boss insists.

Buffy laughs loudly, sending chills up their spines. She declares smugly, "I am more than a Slayer. I'm a ninja, and we almost always work in teams." The vampires stare at her dumbly.

"Yes, morons, she said ninja," Larry says.

Warren snaps, "Enough chit chat. Let's finish what we came here to do." A loud series of clicks fill the air. Warren disappears and reappears behind another vampire. It collapses into a pile of dust. Larry draws out Crow from his back and launches it at the remaining two vampires. Crow's arm joints open up and wooden sebon launch, impaling and dusting another vampire.

Buffy eyes the last one and says, "Wind Style: Wind Sickle Jutsu!" She waves her fan at head level and a blade of wind the shape of a sickle flies through the air and decapitates the last vampire.

Warren chuckles quietly as a snake-like grin crosses his face and says, "So vampires are tortured souls, eh? Let's have a reality check, shall we? Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!" Leaves swirl around everyone in the room before fading into darkness. Images of their lives as vampires begin. Lives of torturing, killing, and other hideous crimes. Screams fill the room from the genjutsu and from the people viewing them. Several of the people fall over puking. The genjutsu finally ends and Warren states calmly, "Any takers on that kind of eternal life?" The teenagers there rush for the door, leaving the ninja and Ford behind.

Ford stares in shock as his plans crumble around him. "I don't care what I'd be like as a vampire! At least I'd be alive!" Buffy tilts her head curiously. "I am dying of cancer! I'm going to be a mere shadow of my former self by the time I die."

Buffy and her teammates exchange glances. The Slayer says hesitantly, "Despite what you tried to do, I understand why you did it. I think I know someone who can help."

Larry says loudly, "But, Buffy! You can't be serious! Didn't you see what he just tried to do?"

Warren glares at him and snaps, "Shut up, Larry. Buffy knows what she's doing." He turns his gaze to Ford. "Follow us, and if you try anything to harm my teammates again, I will kill you myself." Larry goes behind him and pushes him forward roughly.

"Let's go, tough guy," Larry grunts. Ford follows the ninja to Buffy's house without complaint.

Buffy walks into her house and calls, "Mom! We have a patient for you."

Joyce enters the room and glances at Ford. "Him?"

"Yeah, him. Can you scan him and see what you can do for him?" she asks.

Joyce smirks, "Didn't he just try to kill you?"

"That's what I said!" Larry exclaims, only to be konked on the head by Warren.

Buffy says seriously, "He's dying of cancer."

Joyce frowns and says, "Oh. Well, come in and sit down in the living room." Ford stares at her and thinks, "What happened to her body! She never looked like this before!" He follows her instructions. Her hands glow green as she performs a scan of his body for the cancer. He jumps alittle when her hands glow and she says reassuringly, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Yet." Ford starts sweating a little and glances at Larry and Warren worriedly, Larry's fingers twitching irritably.

She completes the scan and frowns, "Well, it's advanced pretty far. I think I can slow its progress for now, and possibly put it into remission. Whether or not I can completely cure it, I just don't know until I do some studying on this kind of cancer."

"Thanks," mumbles Ford.

Joyce starts writing down notes on a notepad and says, "I'll need all medical information that you have and can get on your cancer." He nods and gives her what information he knows and where to get more information. She writes it down and smiles pleasantly, "Good. We'll begin treatment in the morning. Until then, you're sleeping in the basement, tied to a chair. Nothing personal."

Ford opens his mouth to protest, when he sees Larry's fingers twitching more erratically, Crow and Ant twitching in their wrappings. "That's fine!" he says quickly. Warren and Larry bring him downstairs and tie him up with Buffy right behind them.

After her teammates leave, Buffy looks at him sadly. "Just so you know, I never want to see you again," Buffy states. "If I see you again in Sunnydale, you won't walk out alive. No matter your reasons, you betrayed your friends, and that makes you lower than trash. With this longer life, you can live with the shame of what you've done. Who knows? Maybe you can find some small way to redeem yourself in your own eyes." She leaves Ford to his thoughts with a sad frown on her face.

Ford looks down and hears Warren whisper from the shadows, "Was it worth it, to end up all alone in the end?" The snake ninja disappears into the darkness. Ford bows his head, realizing that for the first time in his life, he is truly alone.

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	3. Chapter 3

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Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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The man glances behind him into the darkness worriedly and thinks, 'I think I finally lost it!' He rushes forward towards the school. He runs to the nearest door and pounds on it.

"Can I help you, sir?" a voice says from behind him. He jumps and turns around to see the janitor.

The man sputters, "I'm looking for Rupert Giles!"

"He's probably in the library. The back entrance is that way," the janitor points. The man thanks him and hurries off.

Nearby, Giles, Cordelia, and Xander jump from rooftop to rooftop and drop to the ground near the school, instantly breaking into a slow walk. Giles talks on a cell phone quietly with Harmony and squints his eyes slightly when he notices a man reaching the library door and pounding on it hard. "Let me in!" the man yells. "It's me, Phillip!"

Xander and Cordelia glance behind the man to see a slow moving figure heading towards the man. Xander points and says warningly, "Giles."

Giles mutters, "I think I recognize him from somewhere."

Joyce opens the library door and says politely, "Can I help you?"

"I'm Phillip, an old associate of Mr. Giles. It's very important that I speak to him now!" the man says urgently.

Giles states, "Let him in. Now!"

Harmony calls from the library table, "Joyce, pull him in!" Joyce frowns and notices the strange chakra signature behind the man approaching. She yanks him into the library and slams the door shut before activating the lock seal.

A decrepit woman hobbles into the light of the library entrance and claws at the door savagely. Giles hangs up the phone and hands it to Cordelia. He cautiously approaches the woman as she continues clawing at the door and pounding against it. She seems to sense him and turns around. He recognizes her, "Deidre?" The veins in her skin are all bulging and she looks like she is about to fall apart. She tenses up as if she is about to lunge at him but she hesitates. She tilts her head slightly and stares at him. He frowns in confusion when she turns around and runs away as fast as she can. "Xander, Cordelia, hold back! Don't get too close to her! Just tail her!" he shouts.

"Right!" Cordelia and Xander reply while they run after her. Giles joins them and continues the chase, careful not to get too close to her.

Phillip opens the library doors, Joyce having unsealed it after the creature ran away, and shouts after them, "Don't go after her! She's Eyghon!" His words stop Giles in his tracks. He halts his team with a gesture. He slowly turns to face him as the woman gets away.

"Eyghon?" Giles inquires gravely. "I thought Eyghon was gone."

Phillip approaches him slowly, "Afraid not, old friend."

Giles stares at the other man for a few seconds and says hesitantly, "Phillip, from college?" The man nods. "Phillip, you old dog! How are you doing?" Giles exclaims, giving him a brotherly hug.

"Not too well, in case you haven't noticed," Phillip replies dryly.

Giles frowns, "You have a good point. Come inside. We have much to discuss." They start to go back to the library.

Xander asks, "What about her? She's getting away. I can still get her if you want me to."

Giles glances at him, "We can't rush into this one. We'll need to plan this one out." Xander looks disgruntled but nods.

The team and their guest files into the library. The backup team of Joyce, Willow, and Harmony are already waiting for them. Willow and Harmony say simultaneously, "Hi, Xander!" They pause and glare at each other murderously.

Xander waves back, "Hi, girls." He shudders at the killer intent radiating off of them.

After they all sit down, Joyce reactivates the door seal and takes her seat amongst them. "So," she asks, staring at Giles pointedly, "What's going on?"

Phillips frowns and glances around at the group. "Rupert, why are these people still here? We can't afford to get them involved in this."

Giles replies firmly, "We can't afford for them not to be involved. Things have changed a bit since we last talked. These are my teammates."

"Teammates?" Phillips inquires with a confused look on his face.

Giles sighs, "It's a long story. Anyways, team, we're facing a demon named Eyghon. When I was younger, in my more…wild days—"

"Wild? Giles? In the same sentence?" Xander interrupts, his voice laced with a mix of sarcasm and disbelief.

Giles glares and states reluctantly, "Yes. As I was saying! Before I was so rudely interrupted! Eyghon is a demon that can take control of an unconscious or dead person temporarily, leaving them with a feeling of power when they awaken, providing that they are alive."

"Naturally," drawls Xander before another glare and a smack on the head from Cordelia shuts him up. Cordelia ignores the relatively concentrated killer intent leaking from Willow and Harmony for smacking Xander.

An exasperated Giles sighs, "Anyways, my friends and I summoned him and let him take over one of us briefly until it killed the person it was possessing. We thought that it was over, but it's been hunting us down since. It either came back or it never left. My guess is that it went into hibernation until the time was right to get to the rest of us. The last three people are I, Phillip, and Ethan."

Cordelia twirls a kunai between her fingers absently, "So how do we kill it already?" Phillips gulps and eyes the spinning blade. Everyone else ignores it.

Giles replies, "It needs a body. If its current host is threatened and it cannot escape, it will leap into the nearest one. But if we did that, the problem would start all over again."

Inner Willow shouts, 'That guy is no match for us!' Willow mutters to herself, "Do you _want_ us to be possessed by a powerful demon or something?" 'Of course," Inner Willow smirks. 'What else would impress Xander then to defeat a scary demon?' Willow considers it, "You do have a point…"

"What we need to do," continues Giles, "is separate the demon from the body it is in and prevent it from jumping into another body. Without a host, the demon will die."

Joyce looks thoughtful and frowns, "We might need to contact the others for this one. There has to be at least one of them that know how to set up a barrier of some kind to trap the demon."

Xander inserts, "Warren and Amy are good at barriers. They went as Orochimaru and Tayuya, remember?"

Joyce palms her forehead. "I should have remembered that. Orochimaru and his bodyguards were great at barriers, from what I heard about the Sand/Sound invasion."

Harmony gushes, "Oh, Xander, that was so brilliant of you to remember something like that." She clings to his arm quickly. She is quickly yanked off by Willow.

"Keep your grimey hands to yourself, H-Pig!" Willow storms, her inner Willow taking over.

Joyce slams her fist down on the table, sending a crack down the middle, ending right between the two girls. They jump back to their seats quickly, much to Xander's relief. Giles glances at the table and mutters, "Great. Now we have to replace the table again."

Joyce smiles sheepishly, "Sorry, again. I don't know my own strength sometimes."

"We do," Willow and Harmony chime.

"Quiet," Joyce orders. The two girls instantly shut up.

The librarian looks around at the group and says, "It's getting late. I suggest that we meet at the Summer's home. Let's say 10 am. I'll contact the others in the morning. Phillips, old chap, you're staying with me."

"Thank you," Phillip replies thankfully. The ninja go their separate ways.

Once Giles and Phillip arrive at his apartment, Phillip inquires, "Um…shouldn't we go somewhere safe or something? What if it comes back for us!"

"Don't worry," Giles replies easily. "I have enough seals protecting my apartment to last us through Armageddon. Oh, and I've got some reading material in case you can't sleep that will go nicely with some Scotch. I wrote it myself. " He leads his old friend into the building.

**In the Sewers of Sunnydale: **

The demon-possessed Diedre staggers through the smelly tunnels aimlessly until she comes to a large opening. She ducks into the carved out room. She looks around and sees a huge, muscular demon with the head of a rhino surrounded by candy wrappers. Chocolate is smeared all around its mouth and a beer can is hanging off of one of its claws. A fuzzy television flickers in front of it. The large broken easy chair barely holds the rhino demon's weight.

Diedre staggers closer to it and grabs onto its neck and squeezes hard. Nothing happens. She squeezes as hard as she can, trying to kill it, but the snoring just gets louder. A flash of a hideous demon appears between her and the rhino before disappearing again. The woman's eyes roll back and she disintegrates into a puddle of water. The demon's eyes snap open and glow momentarily. The eyes shut and the snoring resumes, much to the distress of any other creatures trying to sleep nearby.

**Next Day at the Summer's House: **

Joyce sits at the table sipping her coffee, though she misses her precious sake. In front of her, Harmony and Willow stand at opposing kitchen counters with large scrolls opened up and a dead fish lying in front of each of them. On the far counter is an empty aquarium. "Less chakra, Willow. More chakra, Harmony," she mumbles, staring at her coffee sadly.

"Yes, Ma'am," they respond simultaneously without noticing it. They adjust their chakra accordingly and ten seconds later both the fish spring to life. Willow quickly grabs onto hers and drops it into the aquarium. Harmony picks up the fish and runs for the aquarium, but she accidentally drops it on a large frying pan. She quickly picks it up again and drops it into the aquarium. "It was slippery," whines Harmony.

Joyce states, "You're a ninja, girl. Get over it. Good job, both of you, on completing the first step. You are progressing quickly."

They both beam and Harmony replies proudly, "Well, what do you expect of someone as awesome as me?"

"You aren't awesome!" Willow retorts. "She's just saying that to you out of pity!"

They lunge at each other and are stopped midair by Joyce's hands on their faces. "Sit!" she orders. They hurry to opposing chairs though their glares still meet in the middle of the room. Joyce sighs and sits back down to drink her coffee. "Don't get cocky, girls. You still have a long ways to go." They stick their tongues out at each other. "Cut it out! What are you? Two year olds? Anyways, if you got enough energy to fight like toddlers, then you have enough energy for the more physical activities of a shinobi! Go to the back yard and start your workouts for today."

"But, it's early!" Harmony whines.

"Yes, ma'am," grumbles Willow as she starts towards the back door.

Harmony says quickly, "What about the meeting?"

"That gives you two hours to workout. Get started!" Joyce commands with a spike of killer intent, sending the girl running out the back door.

**Two Hours Later: **

Xander enters the house and calls, "Is anyone here?" He receives an answer from the living room. He walks into the living room to find most of the group there. He looks around for the Summers girls and finds Buffy and Dawn sitting by the kitchen window eating popcorn. "What are you doing?"

Buffy replies quietly, "Come and find out." She tosses more popcorn into her mouth and munches happily. Xander goes to the window and stares at the scene. Willow and Harmony are running around the backyard in front of a large chakra-enforced concrete wall with glowing blue baseballs flying past them. Joyce grins wickedly and throws one ball after another. One of the baseballs hit Harmony and sends her flying into the wall.

"Dodge faster!" yells Joyce as she picks up another ball.

Willow complains, "But you keep speeding up the balls!"

"Dodge faster! If you want to be a medical ninja to help your teammates, you can't get hit! You're no good to your teammates if you're dead!" Joyce repeats, throwing the baseballs. Harmony rolls out of the human-shaped imprint in the wall just in time. The baseball leaves a crater where she had landed.

The dark-haired boy glances down at the two eerily grinning girls. "Why are you enjoying this so much?" he asks worriedly.

Dawn looks up at him, "Because we aren't the only ones who have to be trained by mom!"

"She trains you like that?!" Xander says in shock.

Buffy shakes her head, "No, this is nothing. Imagine living with her." He shivers as a sense of impending doom washes over him. He shakes it off and prays to whatever powers that be that the feeling is not trying to warn him of something.

The librarian peeks into the kitchen, "Everyone has arrived. We're ready to start the meeting." He walks over to the window to see what they are looking at. "Um…you can tell her that we're about to begin." He quickly shushins back to the living room before they can answer him. The three exchange glances and quickly take out a kunai and a napkin. They write a note on the napkin and tie it to the kunai. Xander opens the kitchen door a crack and tosses the kunai. He and the girls run to the living room and sit down as if nothing happened.

The kunai lands next to Joyce's foot. She is too caught up in tort---training her apprentices to notice it until it lands. Startled, she hurls a baseball in the direction of the kitchen, taking out the kitchen door and the front door in one throw. Xander was a little slower then the other girls in getting to the living room and narrowly dodges the flying ball and doors. She picks up the kunai, reads the note, and sighs in disappointment. "It's time to start the meeting." The girls sigh in relief until they notice the doors. "Oops," Joyce mutters.

Giles clears his throat once everyone sits down and introduces his former colleague Phillips and gives them a briefing on the situation. He hands out sheets with information about the demon. "We need to figure out a way to contain and destroy the demon," Giles explains.

Warren smiles an Orochimaru smile, "I think myself and Amy may be able to help with that. Right, Amy?"

"Of course, Warren," she nods quickly.

Giles continues, "We cannot afford to have it jump to another host. We have to keep it contained outside of any host's body." Warren and Amy cross their arms.

Warren says smugly, "Who do you think you are talking to, Jiraiya?"

Giles rolls his eyes, "Fine, Oro-Warren, you can handle it. But I will need to modify your work with magic that the demon is vulnerable to. Mere jutsu most likely will not hold it for long."

"Backups upon backups," Warren says airily, "I understand. Not too bad of a plan."

"We're so glad to have your approval," Buffy states dryly.

Warren grins, "I know." Xander and Willow quickly grab their friend's arms to keep her in her seat. The snake ninja quickly appears in the opposite side of the room as the other Warren sinks into a pile of mud.

"You're cleaning that up, young man," Joyce warns. He nods quickly, having witnessed her training on his way to the living room earlier. Memory flashes of Orochimaru's life around Tsunade when she lost her temper send shivers down his spine, not to mention the fact that she is the mother of the Slayer.

Miss Calendar inquires, "How are we going to track the demon? It's probably taken another host by now."

Giles smiles knowingly, "Oh, don't worry about that. We will make it come right to us."

Several of the ninja say, "Huh?" Oz tilts his head curiously and the sand in his gourd swishes around.

The librarian turns to Warren and Amy, "I'll need your help for this part of the plan." Warren and Amy exchange glances but listen attentively.

**Late That Night; Sunnydale Sewers: **

The rhino demon stomps along munching on tiny candy bars cheerfully on its way back to its home. Suddenly, its eyes flash yellow and it stops. It turns to the right and faces the wall. It stares at the wall as if it were looking through it into the distance. The power radiating from that direction is the most powerful signal it has ever felt. "Impossible," it grunts.

The rhino demon hurries out of the sewers and makes its way to a clearing in Sunnydale Park. The demon sees Phillips standing in the middle of the clearing. The mark on his arm radiates the most alluring feeling the demon has ever felt, drawing it closer.

Phillips turns to him and grins, "Got you. Earth Style: Earth Shackles!" The demon frowns in confusion and huge earthen stalagmites shoot from the ground and cover its arms and legs. The dirt tightens around its limbs and holds it in place. The henge shimmers and Giles shouts, "Now, Warren!" He leaps to a safe distance and focuses on maintaining the jutsu.

Miss Calendar, Amy, Warren, and Jonathan jump into the clearing and start going through hand signs. Giles grunts as the huge demon struggles against the shackles, "Hurry up! It's stronger than I thought!" They finish the hand signs and a one way barrier rises around the demon, boxing it in. Xander activates the preset explosive tags around the demon. The explosion stretches out against the barrier and retreats back, badly wounding the rhino's thick hide.

Angel and Xander jump to the right and left of the barrier and launch fire jutsu into the chakra cage. The rhino demon finally collapses into flames. Eyghon abandons the other demon's body in a panic and turns into spirit form. It slams against the barrier but cannot break through. The ninja sense something trying to get out and focus harder on keeping the barrier up. Miss Calendar chants in Latin and casts a spell to reinforce the barrier from magical attacks. The charges into the barrier become weaker and weaker until it finally stops. Eyghon deteriorates into a puddle of water and gets soaked into the earth for the last time. The tattoos on Phillips and Giles disappear.

The barrier lowers as the rest of the ninjas come out of hiding along with the real Phillip. The British man says, "Incredible! Tell me again how you did that!?"

Giles explains, "I henged myself, and since I'm not the greatest at Genjutsu, Warren and Amy put a more complex jutsu on me to hide my identity from the demon. I then, with the help with Warren and our combined knowledge of seals, greatly enhanced my tattoos homing signal, as it were, to drown out any of my power that leaked through the genjutsu. Miss Calendar and Jonathan are magically inclined, so they magically enhanced the barrier. We weren't sure if a chakra-based barrier could hold a magical being, so they helped reinforce it with magic. We placed paper bombs within the radius of the barrier. As a further backup plan, the fire attacks were added and the second layer of magical reinforcement was cast. Eyghon is dead."

Phillips stammers, "That's incredible! And all of this is because of Ethan's Halloween tricks?"

Warren grins, "That is correct."

Faith comes out of nowhere and wraps her arm around Phillip's neck seductively and purrs, "Don't you love happy endings?" Jonathan glares at Phillips dangerously when he notices how close those two are, causing the older gentleman to gulp.

Giles smiles, "Let's celebrate!"

Joyce states reluctantly, "No alcohol!"

Faith pouts, "But, Joyce! Do you have any idea how hard it is to go from the wild life of Anko to this with no alcohol at all?"

Joyce glares at her, "Don't forget who I went as and that person's habits."

Andrew says loudly, "Party at the Summer's house!" He runs off before they can object. They all come to an agreement and travel to the Summer's home for the celebration.

**Outside Sunnydale:**

A car slows down as it approaches the Welcome to Sunnydale sign. It comes to a stop near it. Two people get out. A man walks forward and says, "So this is where he has been hiding out lately. If it wasn't for the Hellmouth, it wouldn't be much of a place for us to have fun."

The woman approaches, sliding up beside him, "What about those other weird rumors? Aren't you concerned about those, too?"

"You know how rumors get blown out of proportion. Most likely the Slayer got a little help and that news got out of hand."

"And him having a soul?"

"It does not matter, either way we will have fun!" says the man. "So what say we find Angelus and find out so we can get this party started! So, shall we go, Elizabeth?"

"Yes, let's go, James," she purrs.

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Author's note: Cookies to anyone who guess who they are!

**Omake #1:**

Eyghon sinks into the earth…and possesses a passing mole. It looks around and squeaks, "I'm blind! I'll never get out of here now!"

**Omake #2: **

Eyghon manages to break through the barrier and flies into the nearest person. Oz feels the demon enter him. Eyghon congratulates itself on surviving and turns around to face the towering figure of a giant raccoon demon.

"What do we have here?" Shukaku growls. "A chew toy!" Eyghon screams as the raccoon's paw comes down on it. Oz feels a strange sense of satisfaction for the next several days but cannot pinpoint the reason for it. Maybe it was the absence of the demon raccoon's usual chatter, or maybe it was the happiness radiating off of the demon. Either way, he didn't care as long as the demon was quiet.

**End Omakes**

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	4. Chapter 4

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Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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**In Sunnydale Park at Early Night: **

A lone girl strolls through park with a light brown jacket over her shoulders. She looks up when she hears a couple slowly walking towards her.

The man grins, "It looks like we finally found one. This one looks delicious."

"Yes, she looks so warm and tasty!" the woman agrees cheerfully. The girl squints her eyes to try to see their faces through the darkness. They step out into the park light to show their deformed vampiric faces. They reach for her as she screams.

**Several Hours Later: **

Miss Calendar, Amy, and Kendra sneak through alleyways and jumps across rooftops stealthily. They start to head to the library to report on their patrol when they come across the body of a girl in the park, completely drained of blood. Jenny turns her head to get a better look at the puncture wounds on her neck to reveal a small cross carved on her cheek.

Kendra remarks dryly, "This is the first time that a vampire has marked its prey here. It must be new in town."

"They sort of have to be with all our slayage," smirks Amy.

Miss Calendar frowns, "We'd better report this." She reaches up to her ear and presses a button, the strap around their neck connected to a walkie talkie picking up their voices, "We found a body. A vampire got her. There is a cross carved on her cheek. Does it ring any bells?"

"I'll forward you to Giles," Jonathan answers at the library.

A moment later, Giles groans, "That sounds vaguely familiar. Good work, I'll look it up in the morning." Snoring starts coming over the sound system before it cuts off.

**Next Morning: **

Giles rubs his eyes and looks through his fingers at the bookshelves. He shakes his head and continues putting the library books away for the school day. Angel calls from the doorway, "I'm here." The team from the previous night fills out their reports around the table. Faith files away the reports as they are finished for Giles to examine later. She glances over the previous team's reports analytically and stores the information for later use in case it can come in handy on patrol that night.

"Your tardiness is getting better," Giles responds tiredly.

Angel smiles, "Thanks for noticing. How did patrol go last night?"

The librarian puts another book on the shelf and pulls out a nearby one. He opens it and flips through it slowly. "It went well overall. There was an irregularity, though. The team found a body of a young woman with a cross mark on her cheek."

Angel twitches at the sound of the cross mark and quickly regains his composure before Giles can see. Faith notices his reaction but remains silent. Giles looks up from his book and inquires, "Do you know of any vampires who make a mark like that on their victims?"

"I'll have to think about it. I think I've heard about it somewhere," Angel responds slowly.

Giles nods and puts the book on the shelf, "Well, contact us if you can think of anyone that this could be." Angel nods and turns to walk out of the library. Oz brushes past him on his way out and nods slightly in greeting.

Oz sits down at the table and murmurs, "We are supposed to meet now, Giles?"

Giles glances over at him, "You're on time! Excellent." He strolls to where Oz is sitting and gestures for him to stand. "Let's take a look at the seal I put on you and see how it's holding up."

Faith glances after Angel and thinks, _'Something's up.' _She vanishes in a swirl of leaves.

**Later That Morning: **

Willow, Buffy, and Xander sit around in the couches in the lounge area. They are looking over the questions for the tests for Career Week. "Guys, we have to be careful about this," Buffy warns.

Xander smirks, "I know. But, I could make it so that it shows me becoming a member of the Russian Mafia!" He immediately gets slugged hard in the arm. He winces, the residue of the hit travelling into the couch, shattering the arm. He pulls all the stuffing back into it and holds it there, grinning sheepishly. "You're paying for that!"

"Me?" Buffy says innocently. "It looks to me like you broke it, hiding it like you are."

"Hiding what?" a snarky voice says from behind them. Buffy and Willow jump to their feet.

Willow says pleasantly, "Principal Snyder! How good to see you!"

"What are you delinquents up to? Planning a bomb scare? Scheduling your afternoon house egging?" he demands suspiciously.

Xander murmurs under his breath, "Bomb scare plus your house equals…"

"What was that, Harris?" snaps Snyder.

"Nothing, sir!" says Xander with an almost innocent grin. "We are perfectly behaved denizens of this school!"

Snyder snorts, "Yeah right! I don't know how you pulled your grades up, or how you have the other teachers liking you so much, but I am not fooled! You are a miscreant and when I find out how you are cheating in all of your classes, you are finished! Finished, I say!"

"Principal Snyder, you might want to calm down," Miss Calendar says as she walks up to the group.

Snyder rants, "And why is that?"

"You look like you're going to pop a blood vessel," she responds. She puts her hand on his shoulder when his rant begins again, the needle between her fingers injecting a highly suggestive drug into his system. "Why don't you go to your office and relax? The students need to prepare for their classes."

He glances around tiredly and mutters, "Yeah, office, relax." He stumbles off down the hall.

"Thanks, Miss Calendar!" Buffy smiles.

Miss Calendar smiles slowly, "Just behave yourselves."

"What did you do to him?" Willow asks curiously, tilting her head a little.

Miss Calendar explains, "It is a drug that makes the person exposed to it highly susceptible to outside influence for about a minute."

Xander's eyes widen mischievously. Buffy glares at him, "No."

"What?" Xander smiles innocently again.

"No, you are not getting that drug. You are not going to try to research it. You are not going to try to find it. You are going to go to class, peacefully, and forget about ever thinking about using the drug on Snyder for your amusement," Willow inserts calmly.

He folds his arms and scowls playfully, "You take all the fun out of life! Wait! I still have that whoopy cushion!"

"No!" Buffy states. He sighs and they head off to their respective classes.

**At Willy's Bar: **

Angel strolls in the side door and sits down at the front counter. The frail looking bartender smiles until he sees him. He very slowly puts both hands on the counter where Angel can see them and smiles at him pleasantly. "Is there anything I can get for my good pal Angel?"

"I want some information, Willy," Angel states. "Is there any new faces in town that have visited here?"

Willy shakes his head slowly, "No, nobody has come in lately that isn't a regular."

The counter shakes slightly as a sharp kunai is imbedded between Willy's fingertips. "Think very hard, Willy," Angel smiles at him. Willy shivers and thinks, '_This guy should never smile. It's creepy!_'

Aloud, Willy quickly says, "Now that you mention it, I did hear of a new group in town. They haven't come in though! They're supposed to be holed up on the far side of town in a warehouse or something."

"Are you sure?" Angel smiles wider, resting his hand on the kunai's handle. The snitch nods quickly. The former vampire yanks the kunai from the table and it disappears. "Good. If you're lying to me, pal, I will be back. If I come back, I will not be happy. Do you understand me?" The smile is still plastered on Angel's face.

"Perfectly! Crystal clear, Angel, old buddy!" Willy says hurriedly.

Angel slowly stands and starts to walk away. He calls over his shoulder, "Oh, and Willy?" The bartender looks up at him. "We aren't buddies." Another smile sends shivers down his spine before the man leaves the bar.

The darkly clothed man steps outside the bar and looks around cautiously. He jumps to the rooftops and heads for the warehouse district. Faith peers out from behind the corner and hops after him, ducking down anytime he looks over his shoulder.

Angel interrogates a demon informant in the warehouse district and heads towards his thinking spot.

He drops to an empty street and forms a hand sign. Three shadow clones appear around him. Angel says, "Go check our demon contacts and other scum to see if they can pinpoint an exact location." The clones nod and jump in different directions. He jumps up into a tree and pulls out Kakashi's favorite book and starts to read after double checking that Buffy is nowhere to be seen.

Faith smirks and murmurs, "Two can play this game, Lazy Pervert." She forms shadow clones and they follow the others while she stays on his trail discretely.

The clones get a few locations, despite having to beat up some of them for information, and dispel to give him information. Faith's clones dispel that were eavesdropping on Angel's shadow clones and she follows him quickly.

Angel hops from the tree and starts hopping across rooftops again with Faith in pursuit. He travels a short distance and creates another two shadow clones. He hops onto a chimney and brings out his book again while the clones run off to stake out the locations. Faith grumbles as she creates her own clones, "Buffy is definitely hearing about this." Angel feels an unexplainable chill run up his spine.

**Several Hours Later Just After Dark:**

One of Angel's clones is watching a warehouse cautiously. A large black van with tinted windows drives up to the warehouse. Four vampires file out of the van and into the warehouse. The clone follows them in silently and crouches near the rafters to listen in. Two other vampires along with James and Elizabeth greet the newcomers loudly, slapping hands and whatnot. Elizabeth and James hang back and observe the new recruits. One vampire, being a new arrival, looks the most excited while the one that is native to Sunnydale peers around nervously, jumping at every sound. The clone frowns and dispels itself.

Angel receives the information while holding a small flashlight to read his book. He puts the book and flashlight away, dispelling the other clone. He travels towards the warehouse. Faith dispels her own clones and follows him again.

**At the School Library: **

"Good Lord!" exclaims Giles. He stares at his book in surprise.

Andrew checks his weapons and asks, "What is it?"

Giles quickly walks to their table and puts the book in front of Andrew and Jonathan. "The killings are identical to Angel's old killings!" Spike looks up when he hears that.

"He's human now," Jonathan states.

Faith tilts her head curiously, "If it's not Angel, than who could it be?"

Giles turns the book's pages a few times and points to a passage. "Angelus had a few traveling companions during his time in Europe. There isn't very much information on them, but it could be one of them named James."

Spike palms his forehead and mutters, "Oh great. James and Elizabeth are in town. Stupid bunch of kids."

"You know them?" Giles frowns.

Spike smirks, "Where do you think I was during Angelus' scourging days?"

Giles raises an eyebrow, "Good point. We need you to tell us everything you know about them and find more information on them quickly!"

**At the Warehouse: **

The vampires start heading for the doors of the warehouse. The nervous vampire is saying, "I told you to get rid of the body! It's not safe when you leave a body behind! You should lay low for a few days until the heat has blown over!" The other vampires ignore him.

The leader of the group laughs, "What heat? What could possibly bother a group of vampires this size?"

"Me," a voice says from behind them. The vampires turn around to see Angel with his mask covering his face for intimidation and his eye covered.

James grins, putting his arm around Elizabeth's waist. "Who are you? This is a private party. I don't see your invitation."

The native starts shaking badly and yells, "It's one of them!"

"I'd listen to your friend here, kid," Angel smirks. "I suggest you get out of town now before I get unpleasant."

James seems to think about it momentarily before putting on his vampiric face and growling, "How about no."

Angel states solemnly, "James, last warning. Leave town now or you will die here."

The vampire raises an eyebrow curiously, "Who are you?" Angel slowly pulls down his mask. James grins happily, "Angel! I heard you were in town! You even came to see me! I feel honored!"

"James, please leave before I have to kill you for taking that young woman's life. I can't have you hanging around town killing innocents," Angel frowns, drawing a wooden kunai.

Elizabeth smirks, "We heard rumors that you'd changed, Angelus. You're protecting your food now?"

"I won't say it again," Angel warns. He twirls his kunai and grabs it again. "It won't be very difficult for me to eliminate all of you."

James sighs dramatically, "And here I was hoping we could catch up on old times. Oh well!" The vampires tense up to attack when Faith drops from the ceiling.

She lands beside Angel and grins, "You were planning on having a fight without inviting me? I'm hurt!"

"Faith, what are you doing here?"

"Ditto, Cyclops," she retorts. "You acted weird this morning so I followed you." She turns to face the vampires. "Now that I know the problem, let's wreak some carnage!"

The two ninja rush forward, slicing the throats of the two nearest vampires and impaling two others' hearts, making them explode into ash. The vampires, surprised by their speed, are shocked into inaction for a few seconds before jumping back into defensive positions. Faith uses the few seconds to plunge a two wooden kunai into the heart and head of the two vampires that had their throats slit. She yanks the kunai from the vampire's head and decapitates it.

Angel rushes forward and disappears. Two vampires explode into dust, revealing Angel holding two wooden kunai behind them. James and Elizabeth gasp at how quickly their minions were destroyed. Faith darts past Angel and plunges her kunai deep into Elizabeth's heart. She stares at Faith a moment in shock before exploding into dust. James snaps out of his stunned reverie and he dives at Faith furiously, only to receive a strong backhand that sends him flying to the ground. He staggers to his feet and glares at Angel. He charges at him with a yell, but Angel easily dodges his punches and kicks. "Stand still and die!" James roars.

Angel stops and blocks one of his fists with ease. "Fine." He lunges forward and begins to pummel him. The blows come to fast for James to block, resulting in several broken bones and bruises. Angel kicks him to the ground and stands over him with a wooden kunai in hand. He raises the kunai up and starts to let his hand drop before suddenly stopping it short of his heart. Angel turns his back on James and states, "Get out of town. If I see you again, you're dead." He walks away.

"Don't walk away from me, Angelus! Don't walk away from me!" James yells after him weakly.

Faith towers over him and smirks, "What a loser. Cut your losses and scram, kid." She kicks him in the face and leans over him. "If he can't kill you next time, I will." She grins sadistically and follows Angel out of the warehouse.

Faith catches up to Angel and asks, "Are you sure you want to let him go?"

"He's learned his lesson. He won't bother us again," Angel says dully. He jumps onto a rooftop and starts hopping away.

Faith shrugs and calls after him, "If you say so!" She hurries after him.

The pair runs into Jonathan, Andrew, and Faith's clone a minute later. "Hey, Angel and Faith! Faith? If you're here, than who is…" Andrew says in confusion. The Faith beside him waves with a grin and poofs out of existence.

"Shadow clone," Jonathan drones.

"Got it in one, Sherlock!" she answers cheerfully.

Jonathan and Andrew exchange glances. Andrew whispers, "There is something wrong."

"I know," Jonathan replies. "She should not be this cheery under any circumstances." He turns to face the couple. "We were sent to eliminate…"

Angel states, "I know. Already taken care of." Faith nods in agreement.

The boys sigh and turn around to jump away. Andrew says as he hops away, "Ah, man! And here I was looking forward to a good fight! Hey, Jonathan! Since we didn't fight vampires, do you think we could—"

"No! I will not spar with you again!" Jonathan snaps. Andrew sighs mournfully but Jonathan shows no sign of regret.

**Outskirts of Sunnydale 15 minutes Later: **

A car speeds out of Sunnydale and a huge boulder slams into the car. The car spins off the road and crashes. James slowly crawls out of the car. He glances at his totaled car and growls, "Great! Just what I needed! This night can't get any worse!" Lightning flashes in the sky and it starts raining. He groans, "I just had to say it."

An eerie laugh erupts from the night. "I hear you had a little bit of trouble tonight with Angelus," the voice mocks.

"Who's there!" James demands, turning slowly in a circle while holding his broken ribs with one arm.

The voice chuckles, "Do you wish for revenge?"

"Yes!" James answers quickly. "Of course I want revenge! They killed Elizabeth! But there is no way that I could possibly take them on and win."

"What if I said I could make you strong enough to beat them?" the voice inquires.

"What do I have to do to get this power?" James narrows his eyes and the lightning flashes.

The voice purrs, "Just stand still." He turns around and yells as a large snake-like face lashes out of the darkness, fangs flashing in the lightning flash.

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	5. Chapter 5

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Disclaimer: See chapter 1 and review. Why else do you think we Post stories?

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**At the Art Gallery: **

A tall strong looking man walks into the building. Joyce glances at him sharply, noticing that she cannot sense his chakra, meaning either he is some sort of weird demon or he is suppressing it somehow. He strolls over to her and introduces himself as Ted. Joyce smiles pleasantly and introduces herself. He says amiably, "I am looking for something for my house. It could use some art to liven it up. A woman's touch would help considerably, I think," he says smoothly.

Joyce pretends to be impressed at his flattery and runs a brief medical scan with a chakra burst, but he does not notice. She frowns when she cannot find any chakra emanating from him at all, suppressed or otherwise. He flatters her more and makes subtle suggestions of a second meeting. The powerful blonde agrees to have dinner with him the next night to examine him further without his noticing.

She goes home that night and passes Dawn's room. Joyce backpedals and inquires, "Dawn, would you like to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night?"

"What's the occasion?" Dawn asks in return, her eyes never leaving her book as she lays sprawled out on her bed.

"Oh nothing major," Joyce says casually, "I am just having dinner with a man who puts out no chakra whatsoever."

Dawn sits up quickly and states, "You want me to check out the guy you're going on a date with?"

"It's not a date! It's an investigation!" Joyce protests.

Dawn smirks, "Over dinner?"

"It's a cover!" Joyce insists.

Dawn rolls her eyes and goes back to her book, "Sure it is, mom. You keep telling yourself that. I'll go so that you can introduce 'your youngest daughter' to the guy you are 'investigating'."

Joyce grumbles under her breath about needing something to drink and stalks to her room. Dawn smirks wider when she hears the door slam.

**The Next Night: **

Buffy whines into her headset, "Why do you get dinner and I have to sit in uncomfortable bushes watching you? These have thorns, you know!"

Joyce slowly approaches the table where Ted is waiting for them and mutters into her hidden microphone, "Not now!" She smiles and sits down with Dawn. "I hope you don't mind, but I didn't want to leave my daughter at home alone. This is my youngest daughter Dawn. I have another daughter, but I'm afraid she couldn't pull herself away from her study group." Ted nods understandingly and they order their food. About fifteen minutes into the meal, Dawn excuses herself to go to the bathroom, using all of the courtesy ingrained into her by the Hyuga clan.

When she enters the bathroom, Dawn goes into a stall and locks it. She activates her Byakugan and looks through the wall at Ted. She examines him critically, not finding any chakra emitting from him, but what does she does find surprises her. She deactivates her Byakugan and returns to the table.

After the meal, Dawn, Buffy, and Joyce are driving home. "You never answered my question! Why did you need me to be sitting in a stupid bush? He couldn't have caused a scene at a restaurant like that anyways!" Buffy whines.

"Because I'm the Hokage and your mother and I said so," Joyce grouches. "Besides, it never hurts to have backup plans."

Dawn smirks, "If I have to go, so do you, Buffy!" Their mother quickly prevents a fight by asking Dawn what she found. Dawn grins widely, "Mother dearest," she begins. "For the very first date you have been on in eighteen years, you have been picked up by someone very special."

"Is he a demon?" Joyce inquires, pulling into their driveway.

Dawn continues grinning, unnerving Buffy a little at the intensity of it. "Nope! You managed to pick up a fully functional robot!"

Buffy and Joyce stare at her in shock and exclaim simultaneously, "What?!"

"How is that possible?" Buffy frowns, holding her fan close to her.

Dawn replies, "I have no idea. But, he's a robot! Just a mesh of wires and gears!"

Joyce rubs her temples slowly. "We'll deal with this in the morning. I'm going to ask Jiraiya what he thinks about it."

"Jiraiya?" questions the older daughter with a raised eyebrow.

Dawn says in a sing song voice that would make even Drucilla proud, "Mommy has the hots for the teacher!"

"I do not!" sputters Joyce. "He is merely the logical choice for advice for this situation!"

Dawn smirks, "I'm sure he is. I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Tsunade and Jiraiya were so close throughout their lives and that you need romantic advice."

"It's not a romantic situation! This is an investigation of a robot!" Joyce says indignantly.

Buffy joins in, "Than why are you blushing?"

"I'm not blushing! It's just hot in here! I'm going to bed! Both of you get to bed!" Joyce declares, leaving the vehicle in a huff, still red faced.

Buffy and Dawn exchange glances. "You're good," Buffy comments.

Dawn grins, "Oh yes I am!"

**Next Day at Sunnydale High after School: **

The youngest Summers girl skips into the library whistling innocently. Giles eyes her suspiciously as she skips up to him and grins widely. "Mom went on a date last night with a really cute guy! Are you jealous?" she inquires.

Giles stares at her for a few seconds and deadpans, "What?"

"You are, aren't you! I knew it!" Dawn exclaims, jumping and spinning with excitement.

"Huh?" Giles says in confusion.

Dawn twirls around to face him, "Don't you try to cover it up now, you ninja librarian! I'm onto you now! You have a crush on my mother!"

Joyce snaps from the doorway, "Dawn! What have I told you about this! Enough!"

Giles looks back and forth from mother to daughter before asking Joyce, "Did I miss something?"

"Just a little," Dawn replies innocently. "But I know you like her." She narrowly avoids a pencil that imbeds itself into the shelf next to her. Joyce smiles just as innocently as her daughter, which sends shivers up Giles' spine and gives Dawn a sense of impending doom.

Joyce says pleasantly, "You know, Dawn, I think I've been slacking on your training lately…"

Dawn stares at her in horror, "You wouldn't!"

"Care to find out?" Joyce challenges her evenly.

Dawn looks around for some way of escape when she suddenly grins evilly. "I'll tell Willow and Harmony that you and Giles are dating. The whole school would know before the day was out."

"If you did that, my dear daughter," Joyce replies calmly, "I would have no choice but to triple your current training, since you obviously have way too much time on your hands." Dawn sighs in defeat, but mischievous thoughts still course through her head unimpeded.

Giles says loudly, "Will someone just tell me what is going on?" Joyce sighs and explains the situation with Ted to him. Dawn opens her mouth to comment several times, but the killer intent leaking from both Sannin manages to silence her each time.

"That's it?" Giles says curiously. He glares at the girl, "You made up this entire scenario, from your mother's current boyfriend being a robot?"

"For the last time, he is not my boyfriend! He is an investigative subject!" Joyce growls.

Giles bites back a comment that seems to want to pop out immediately and slowly replies, "Wrong choice of words. Sorry." He thinks, _'Curse you, Jiraiya, and your lack of any tact whatsoever!'_ Somewhere in his mind, he swears he could have heard a perverted giggle. Aloud he says, "Do you want me to investigate this guy, Joyce?"

"Yeah, Giles. Find out what you can about this guy and if it is okay to just leave him as is," Joyce answers.

Dawn pipes up quickly, "So you can find out whether or not you can keep dating him!"

"Enough!" roars Joyce. Dawn smiles innocently and skips out of the library as quickly as she came in.

Giles rubs his glasses and mutters, "Children these days and their wild imaginations." He sits down next to the phone and dials a number.

Willow's house phone rings and she answers, "This is the Rosenburg Residence."

"This is Giles," the librarian says. "Could you run a background check on a Ted…"

Joyce inserts, "Buchanan. Ted Buchanan."

"For a Ted Buchanan," Giles finishes.

Willow replies as she sits down at her computer, "Ted Buchanan, got it." She does a search on him through the Sunnydale database until she finds him. She gives him Ted's address in Sunnydale and comments, "He seems to have been married, but she disappeared. Other than that, I'd say that he is the average guy with no criminal record at all."

"Can you do a more thorough search?" Giles inquires.

Willow frowns as she skims through the information online and replies quickly, "I could, but it will take about an hour."

"Do it," Giles said. He hangs up to await her results.

**An Hour Later: **

Willow calls Giles back at the library. "He's as clean as a whistle! Where did that phrase come from anyways? Sorry! Willow babble. Anyways, there is nothing wrong with him that I can find legally. He has been married four times before, but his wives have all gone missing and were never found."

"That last part is a little odd. Thank you for your efforts, Willow," Giles says gratefully, "I'll call you back if I need more information." Willow acknowledges his response and hangs up.

Giles hangs up and glances at Joyce. "He's clean legally. The only odd thing is that he's been married four times and his wives have all gone missing. I'll send Angel's team to his house to check it out. If he's harmless, than we'll leave him alone. If not, they'll report back. I'll need you to find out when he works. You can use the excuse of arranging your next date and needing to know his work schedule so you can work around it." Joyce grimaces at the thought but nods in agreement.

"I'll call him and find out when I get home," Joyce grumbles. "Dawn will be ready, since there is no school on Saturday and she hasn't made any plans yet."

**Next Day:**

Dawn mumbles unhappily, "Of all the things I could be doing, I have to visit a robot with my Saturday."

"The faster we search through his house, the faster we can leave," Angel reminds her. Oz walks with them, gazing impassively at the medium-sized house.

Dawn activates her Byakugan and looks around the house. "It's clean of any traps or hidden alarms." Gaara looks to Angel who nods to him. The boy's sand move up into the door and unlocks it. They enter the house silently.

After a few minutes, Dawn frowns, with her Byakugan still pulsing, "Something is in the basement."

The team heads down to the basement and find a large closet. She opens the closet and peers inside. "Mom sure knows how to pick them," Dawn comments dryly.

"This is Team Kakashi," Angel says into his communication device. "It seems that Mr. Buchanan has a few skeletons in his closet. I think it was his first four wives."

Dawn looks up through the floor and says quietly, "Ted is home early. He should still be at work! He's coming this way." The sounds of footsteps approach the basement.

Ted comes down into the basement as the ninja disappear into the shadows with henges. He looks around slowly and murmurs, "I must be hearing things. I could have sworn I heard talking." He turns around to see a wall of sand. "What the—" he manages to say as the sand covers everything but his head to prevent him from moving. The sand retracts to leave an unprotected hole on the chest. Angel activates a Chidori and stabs it into his chest. Ted says haltingly, "Does…not…compute…Impossible for humans to hold… lightning!" He slumps over and a slow whirring sound is heard as he shuts down.

Dawn smirks, "Imagine what would happen if we hadn't gone as ninjas for Halloween! I might be stuck with a psychopathic robot father!"

Angel rolls his eye and retorts, "I can see how that would be a problem for an annoying little brat."

Oz's sand peels off of Ted and makes a thin wall between the two ninjas. "Play nice," he whispers. His sand surrounds Ted again and lifts him into the air as Oz starts to walk back up the stairs.

**A Few Hours Later at the Summer's House: **

Andrew exclaims loudly, "This is so cool! A real robot!"

"It's a psychopathic killer," Jonathan points out. He smirks slightly, "But it is cool."

Andrew grins, "It's like the Terminator!" He goes behind Ted and moves his arms about jerkily. He drones from behind Ted, "I'll be back!"

Warren stares at the robot and says, "I'll have to study this. Perhaps we can use something like this in the future if we need more support in the field or at the home base."

Joyce says from her chair behind them, "Not a bad idea!"

Glancing over his shoulder, Warren says politely, "If you don't mind, I would like to take the robot to my house to study it in more detail."

"Fine with me," Joyce replies.

**Nighttime at Warren's House: **

Ted lays motionless on a large metal table in Warren's basement. A shadowy figure stands over him with his eyes glowing yellow, "Yes, I believe this will be most useful to me." He chuckles evilly.

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	6. Chapter 6

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Disclaimer: see chapter 1

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**At the Sunnydale Mall in the Evening:**

Joyce holds up a long green dress with a low v-shaped neckline admiringly. Her eldest daughter tries to pull her away to a more conservative section of the store. "Mom, you are not wearing that!" Buffy exclaims.

"Oh, I think it would look rather good on me, don't you agree, Dawn?" Joyce smiles.

Dawn looks up from the book she is reading and nods, "It looks good, mom." She looks back to her book.

"Dawn!" Buffy exclaims. "We don't want her wearing this!"

"Don't wear that, mom," Dawn says without looking up from her book. "Or do. You're the 'responsible adult'. I refuse to be dragged into this." Joyce flashes a grin at Buffy who practically has steam coming out her ears.

She is about to try to convince her mother not to wear it when she senses something wrong. The Slayer turns around and notices two men dressed as if they were from a cowboy show. They slowly near a girl playing pinball in a mostly abandoned arcade across the hall. "Dawn, I need your eyes," Buffy says seriously.

Dawn looks up from her book again with a sigh and murmurs, "Byakugan." The veins around her eyes pulsate as she examines their chakra. She sighs unhappily and deactivates it.

"Well?" Buffy demands.

Dawn stares into her book studiously, "You're the Slayer, not me. I don't have to do anything other than sit here and enjoy my book. You can't make me."

Buffy growls, "I wasn't going to ask you to do anything. I just wanted to make sure they were vampires before I did anything. Mom, let's go deal with them!"

Her mother stares at the dress for a moment longer and hanging it back on the shelf. She glances over at the vampires and raises an eyebrow, "You can't handle two vampires?"

"Just come on!" Buffy frowns.

Joyce looks at the dress again and says, "Don't worry, I'll be back to buy you later." She notices Buffy's infuriated expression out of the corner of her eye and smirks. She thinks, 'Success!'

Buffy growls, "Not happening!" She guides her mother out of the store and tries to casually approach the vampires. Joyce makes a hand sign and a low level genjutsu blankets the arcade. "And who might you gentlemen be?" she inquires politely.

The vampires look over the two women and grin, "We're the Gorch Brothers!" The younger one says, "I'm Tector. This is my brother Lyle."

Joyce inquires playfully with a wink, "Would you like to come with us?"

Lyle approaches her, eyeing her hungrily. "How about we just talk here?" Joyce slides a stake out of her sleeve and stabs him through the heart in one smooth motion. Tector stares at surprise as his brother turns into dust. Buffy snaps a small fan from her sleeve and blows the ash away before anyone can notice it.

Tector growls, "You just killed my brother!"

"Great deduction, detective. Here's your medal," Buffy retorts as she decapitates him with a single blade of wind from her fan. With another snap of her wrist, his ashes scatter into the shadows. She smirks, "I've still got it."

"The quips or the wind jutsu?" Joyce inquires.

Buffy says defensively, "Both of course!"

"Good. You should still have it after all the training you have done," Joyce grins sadistically. Buffy shivers at the memories and suggests that they go to check on Dawn. Joyce releases the genjutsu. They arrive back at the small store to find Dawn still engrossed in her book.

Dawn states, "You took your time." She continues reading.

"They weren't any challenge," Buffy smiles. "Let's head home!"

Joyce reaches for the dress as she says, "After we buy this!"

"NO!" yells Buffy, slapping her mother's hand away quickly. "You are not buying that!"

Joyce slowly smiles conspiratorially, "Than you buy it."

Buffy glares at her mother for a long moment. "Fine, but you better not steal it later! I am only buying this so you don't get your hands on it."

"Of course, dear," Joyce responds cheerfully.

Buffy takes the dress and says suspiciously, "This isn't for Ted, is it?"

Joyce's smile widens, "I have no idea what you mean, Buffy." Dawn rolls her eyes. Buffy pays for the dress and they leave the store.

Dawn puts her book away and says, "This job is getting too easy around here!"

"Dawn," Buffy states with a twitching eye. "You just jinxed us."

Her younger sister protests, "I did not!"

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Next Day at Sunnydale High School:

Buffy strolls into the library where Miss Calendar's team is finishing their nightly report while Faith's team checks their reports for anything that may be helpful to them for that night. Giles looks up from what he is working on and smiles, "Buffy! You're just in time! I finished my new security system for the school." Buffy sits down across from him. He pushes a group of papers over to her. "I set up an array of seals around the school that should alert us as soon as anything nonhuman enters the building!" A seal on the paper suddenly flashes green.

"What does green mean?" Buffy inquires.

Giles is still giving his animated explanation, "Yellow means vampire and green means demon! Why do you ask?"

"Because the paper just turned green," Buffy says nonchalantly. She pushes the paper back to Giles who quickly examines it and figures out which seal went off.

He says, scratching the back of his neck, "It came in through the front door? That's not right!"

Buffy replies slowly, "Shouldn't we hear students panicking and screaming if a demon walked in through the front door?"

"Let's go investigate," Giles frowns. "Please tell me I didn't mess up this system."

Buffy pats him on the shoulder sympathetically, "You didn't mess up the system. It's just messed up on its own." He just stares at her for a minute or two. "Is something on my face?" Buffy asks once she notices his odd staring.

"No," Giles says. He sighs, "Let's go investigate."

Buffy says cheerfully, "Nothing better than starting off the school day with tinkering with your new demon alarm system!" He sighs again but she ignores him. The two head towards the entrance of the school. He calls over his shoulder, "Finish up what you're doing. If you hear screaming, come running."

The librarian and Buffy reach the front entrance. He pauses and frowns. "Is something wrong, Giles?"

He looks around warily and frowns deeper, "I could have sworn I felt something, but it's gone now. I'll check the seals and make sure it was done properly. Maybe it was a false alarm."

Buffy shrugs, "Oh well! It's no skin off my nose. I'd better head off to class. Later, Giles!" He returns her wave goodbye and starts to check the seals.

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Biology Class:

Buffy walks into the room but stops as soon as she steps into the room. She looks around until her eyes rest on the teacher, who is sitting at his desk in the front of the room. She thinks, 'Something's not right.' and sits down in her seat. On each desk is an egg. Buffy frowns as she senses demonic chakra. She slowly looks over at the teacher who is shuffling through papers. Willow leans over to her once she takes her seat and whispers, "Did you notice it too?"

"Yeah, I noticed," Buffy frowns. "Something is off about the teacher."

Xander retorts from across from Willow, his eyes blood red, "There is something up with these eggs too. They're giving off the same chakra as the teacher. It's not human."

Buffy whispers, "So Giles' seals were right! I'll have to tell him when we get back to him. We should bring him the eggs and collect them from the other students. It's not like anyone really wants to do the assignment, whatever it is."

Willow frowns, "We'd better switch them with regular eggs so that nobody notices." The trio nods in agreement.

Xander volunteers, "I suggest that I follow the teacher home after school and investigate."

The Slayer shakes her head quickly, "You're not going without backup. Willow and I will join you, right, Willow?" The red head sighs as she mentally discards all plans for that evening but nods. Inner Willow cheers, 'We're going to be spending quality time with Xander! Cha!!' Willow instantly straightens up in her chair, trying to cover her blush as much as she can.

"We'd better let Giles know that the alarm was working and what we are planning," Willow says thoughtfully.

Buffy nods in agreement, "I'll tell him between classes." Willow nods quickly with a grin at the thought of having Xander all to herself with Buffy busy. Xander glances at the two girls and answers with a typical Uchiha "Hn."

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Lunch Time in the Library:

Buffy just done finishing the report to Giles. He cleans his glasses and sighs, "Oh dear, a demon disguised as a teacher. I'll keep an eye on him and see what he is up to here at school while you are in class. I can keep a shadow clone in the library. I'll call Angel to get the eggs to substitute with the demon ones your classmates have."

"I'll get Jonathan in touch with Angel once he arrives so that he can tell him where all the eggs are," Buffy offers. Giles smiles at her thinking.

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**Soon After School Gets Out:**

Angel casually strolls through the crowd of students. "Target sighted, ten feet to your left at 11 o'clock. It's in the lower left pocket on their backpack," Jonathan says over their communication devices. The former vampire double clicks his tongue in acknowledgment and immediately changes direction towards the student with the egg.

He slips up behind the student and switches out the eggs with skillful ease before walking away. The egg disappears without a trace into his clothes. "Six down," Jonathan says calmly. "Next target: twenty feet behind you at 6 o'clock in her purse." Angel clicks his tongue again and starts backtracking in the next student's direction.

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**At the Teacher's House:**

Xander looks around the furniture while Buffy peers into dresser drawers. Willow checks the kitchen cabinets. "We're lucky he left right after he got here, makes things easier for us. Though, I'm not finding anything," calls Xander.

Willow replies, "No luck here either."

"Keep looking," Buffy responds. "There should be at least one thing out of the ordinary here."

Xander drawls, "Maybe you should have brought Dawn with us."

"Stop complaining and keep looking," Buffy says with a scowl.

They continue searching for about an hour but nothing suspicious is found. The trio starts to walk away from the house. "That's weird," Buffy frowns. "We should have been able to find something."

"If it's not there, where would it be?" Willow inquires.

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**Back at the School:**

Giles follows the teacher into the boiler room. Noticing a basketball sized hole in the cement floor, he slips behind the teacher and knocks him out with a chop to the neck. He stares down the hole, noticing a strong stench and demonic chakra leaking out of it. A tentacle slowly creeps out of the hole and moves towards him and the fallen teacher only to be impaled to the floor with a kunai. A shrill shriek erupts from the floor. It manages to dislodge the kunai and withdraw back into its hole.

He goes through a series of hand signs and states, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He exhales a deep breath of fire into the hole, covering every nook and cranny of the small underground cavern. Several of the rocks melt from the intense heat of the jutsu. The loud shrieks die down to nothing as the demon and all of her eggs are turned into piles of ashes. He smiles, "That went well, all things considered!" He looks over at the teacher and watches as a small rat-octopus like creature drops off from the teacher's back and squirms around on the floor for a few seconds before dying.

The teacher starts to wake up and rubs his neck. "What happened?"

Giles places a small henge over the creature's body and helps the teacher to his feet. "I thought I heard something down here and I found you passed out. Are you okay?"

The teacher nods and mumbles, "Yeha, I think I'm okay. I have a splitting headache!"

"It'll pass," Giles says knowingly. "Things like that always do." He helps the teacher out of the room.  
**  
**  
Buffy hangs up the phone and calls to her family, "Giles says that the demon and her eggs were destroyed. The babies apparently can't live without the mother."

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**Later that Night at the Summer's House:**

"Good, I'm glad that was taken care of without too much trouble. Though, I wish that some children had as much appreciation for their mothers as those demons did!" Joyce replies.

Dawn pats her mother's arm, "It's okay, mom. You know you'll always be the center of our training."

"Your training?" Joyce says as her eye begins to twitch.

Dawn nods as Buffy slowly edges towards the door. "Yes, mom, our training! Nobody else could possibly run us into the ground like you do!" Buffy opens the door and dives out, running into Xander and Willow. They take one look at her eyes and start running. A moment later, the kitchen table flies out through the window onto the front lawn. Xander quickly casts a genjutsu over the lawn so that they don't attract attention of any neighbors.

"She just had to say it!" Buffy grumbles.

Xander rolls his eyes, "At this point, I don't even want to know! Let's go inside before Dawn says something that will end with your house exploding." The three friends link arms and march to the destruction zone.

They hear Dawn say through the broken window, "See! That's a perfect example of what you train us to endure!" They duck as a chair flies through the already broken window, shattering what is left of the glass.

Buffy sighs, "This is going to be a long night."

Willow says quickly, "Let's stop Dawn from saying anything else before it's too late!"

As the trio tries to restrain Joyce, Xander says, "On the bright side, we don't have to deal with any demon eggs taking us over!"

"I'm almost wishing for those right now!" Buffy shouts as she flies through the air, lands on her feet, and pounces back onto her mother.

Dawn says calmly, "Yeah, those demon eggs were pretty easy. I wish we had something harder to deal with."

Buffy glares at her younger sister, killer intent coming off in waves. "What did I say about jinxing us! If you want harder, you try to come over here and face the music!"

Dawn glances at the window and at the three teenagers being thrown around like ragdolls. She shakes her head quickly and replies, "I'm good!"

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**Hidden Location:**

A man kneels on one knee with his head bowed to the person in front of him. "You have done well! You have fulfilled your potential much faster than I anticipated," a voice says from the shadows. "With the power you have now, you can take on the most experienced of our enemies with ease."

The man looks up revealing himself to be James. "Of course, Master. I will crush them!"

"Good," the master says as he slowly walks out of the shadows. "Do not fail me."

James bows his head again, "I will not fail, Lord Orochimaru!"

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Read and Review!

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	7. Chapter 7

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Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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**Saturday Night in a Sunnydale Park:**

Joyce sighs as she tries to tune out Willow and Harmony's bickering. She checks her watch and switches on her radio. The two girls instantly quiet down when they hear it turn on. "We're reporting in. We are at the east park," Joyce says clearly.

On the other end of the conversation, Joyce can hear Jenny inquire, "Are they still at it?"

Joyce glares at the two girls who slowly inch away from her. "Yeah, they're still at it."

"Nothing else to report?" Kendra says from behind Miss Calendar.

Joyce replies, "Nothing else to report. Tsunade, out."

"Shizune, out," Jenny answers before ending the transmission. The moment that the transmission clicks off, the two girls start bickering again.

Joyce releases killer intent at them in waves, "Will you two shut up!" The redhead and blonde shut their mouths with an audible snap. "Thank you! Now pay more attention to your surroundings or I will double your training!" They pale and nod quickly. The two girls refuse to look at each other as they take in their surroundings. Joyce sighs, "Hopeless."

The trio continues through the park slowly. A loud scream erupts from further ahead of them in the darkness. They dart towards the sound while Willow and Harmony draw their kunai. Joyce rolls up her sleeves and they leap into a clearing. A woman is lying screaming on the ground with two figures standing over her, their mouths nearing her neck. The two girls fling their kunai at the figures, stabbing their backs. The two men turn around to show their vampiric visages. The vampires snarl and charge at them. The girls quickly close the distance between them and engage them close to the woman.

Joyce jumps over to the woman who is lying face down on the ground with a long jacket on her. "Are you okay?" she inquires gently and lifts the woman up, turning her over. The woman giggles and stares at the ninja with a dazed, slightly crazed look in her eye. Joyce looks down to see a vest loaded with explosives on the woman's chest. She notices a detonator in the woman's hand. Her finger is resting on the button. Joyce pushes the woman away and jumps back while yelling, "Scatter!" The two kunoichi jump back just as an explosion lights up the area. The vampires explode into flames, accidentally blocking part of the explosion from hitting its targets. The ninjas slowly rise to their feet, covered in small bruises. They look around, slightly dazed from the sudden explosion.

"What happened?" Willow asks, wiping off some blood from her clothes from the woman.

Harmony glares at her and snaps, "I think somebody just tried to kill us, genius! What do you think happened?" A loud bang echoes through the clearing. The two girls quickly glance towards the sound and see Joyce stumble to the ground, hand on her left shoulder and covered in blood.

The two girls start to move to help her but she holds up a hand and whispers harshly, "I'm okay. Don't move. I thought I felt a killer intent in the direction of the shooter and managed to dodge in time, mostly." She slowly pulls herself back up onto her feet.

Willow suddenly senses a chakra signature behind her and twirls around with another kunai drawn. She looks around but nobody seems to be there. She catches the glint of a blade from her left in her peripheral vision and manages to deflect three throwing knives before they can hit her. She hears the grass rustle towards her right. She looks but still cannot spot anyone. Harmony sees the knives clatter around her rival and frowns, "What's going on?"

"Quiet!" Joyce hisses. Willow looks towards her right warily and then to her left. As she turns her head, a knife appears above her.

Harmony shouts, "Look out!" Willow twirls on her heel and barely blocks the knife with her kunai, only to feel a sharp pain in her left side. The red haired kunoichi slowly looks down to see a knife sticking out of her. "No!" Harmony yells as she flings a kunai at the space in front of Willow. It passes her and lands in the grass nearby.

An explosion of leaves and branches from a bush erupts near Harmony and a massive dark green skinned demon charges at the blonde with its huge claws reaching for her as it roars. Joyce shouts, "It's an ambush!"

Willow whispers, "Yeah, I got that part." She senses the chakra signature behind her again and she moves forward just enough for another knife to make a glancing slash across her back. She grunts in pain and staggers forward. She tosses a kunai behind her as she stumbles to the ground, but it does not make contact with anything.

The Sannin senses another wave of killer intent in her direction and quickly moves, but still receives a grazing shot to her leg. She lands roughly on the ground and thinks, 'This is not good!' Dozens of demons and vampires pour out of the bushes and charges towards them on all sides. 'How could I not sense them?' Joyce thinks in a near panic. She grabs her radio and shouts, "We've been ambushed! Send reinforcements to the park!" Listening for a reply, she gets an earful of static. 'Jammed? But how?' She glances up to see the first wave of demons and vampires jumping at her. She smashes the first few aside with her super strength but can only do so much from the ground.

The demons and vampires laugh as they rush at her. Growling, she smashes the ground hard with her fist. A shockwave blasts them back along with shattering the ground around her in all directions. Any demons and vampires near her fall to the ground, and in some cases, into the broken ground. She leaps away from the oncoming monsters, flashes through a few hand signs, and begins healing her leg. It quickly heals and she begins work on her shoulder with her eyes on the creatures in front of her that are slowly getting back to their feet. She reaches into her pouch and pulls out a pair of tweezers. She quickly but carefully reaches into her shoulder and yanks out the bullet. She continues healing the wound, dropping the bloody bullet into the pouch to examine later. Unfortunately, she does not have a chance to fully heal her arm as the creatures begin to charge at her again.

**With Willow:**

Willow is spinning in a small circle while attempting to fight off eight demons and vampires along with the unseen assailant. As she whirls between the hostile creatures, she whips an enchanted blade from her belt and slashes at a vampire. Airborne blades from the unseen opponent barely knick her cheeks and legs as she moves. The red-haired ninja ducks over a demon who has spikes covering his skin. She dodges under his arm and stabs him in the shoulder joint. Spinning on her heel, she slaps the side of his head with a chakra enhanced blow, leaving behind an explosive note. She hooks his leg with hers and twirls him into the air onto another demon. Willow senses another creature behind her, and stabs the oncoming vampire in the throat before roughly leaving an explosive note on its forehead. A moment later, it flies into its comrades with a fist sized indent on his stomach. She snaps her fingers and the pieces of paper detonate. She watches carefully as the explosions rock the landscape around her.

She notices some dirt landing in midair. Narrowing her eyes, she glances at the ground and notices the grass being pressed down. All of this is done in under a second. She throws the enchanted knife with all of her might into the upper part of that area. With a burst of blood and a thud, a body collapses on the ground with the blade sticking out of its forehead. The rest of the body slowly becomes visible as its fingers stop twitching, still holding its throwing knives.

**Back with Harmony:**

The blonde fights off the claws and teeth of her enemies and back flips away from them. She breathes heavily while smirking, despite her messy appearance, "I've wanted to try this one for awhile!" She forms an odd hand sign and states, "Mind Destruction Jutsu!" The gigantic demon charging at her suddenly stops, his claw a few inches from her face. He roars and turns around, grabbing onto and throwing around his companions.

"What are you doing, man!" a vampire shouts while dodging under its arm. His head is removed before he can continue the conversation via a swing from the other arm. Harmony grins and watches as the demon decimates everyone around her. Sweat starts forming on her forehead as she focuses more on the jutsu. Her hands shake slightly and she glares at the demon. As its claws rips the last demon in half and turns to the very last vampire, she whispers to herself, "I wish I'd practiced with dad more when he was explaining this in detail! Well, Ino's dad, but whatever!" She watches as the last vampire has his head shoved out the wrong end of his body and implodes. She winces, "That's gotta hurt." She focuses harder and forces the demon to pick up a kunai on the ground. Her hands wobble and she hisses, "L-losing control!" She staggers backwards as he breaks free from the jutsu. The green skinned demon shakes its head slowly, looking around before staring at the kunai in its hand. He crumbles the kunai in the palm of its hand before tossing it over his shoulder and staring down at her. She smiles and whispers while breathing heavily, "Hi." He growls loudly at her. She slowly slides her hands into her pouches on the back of her waist. He growls louder at her, making her hair blow back from the force of his growl. She quickly throws kunai at him with a blade between each of her fingers and wildly tosses them at him. The majority of them bounce off or miss him completely. After she stops throwing the weapons, he chuckles deeply.

He growls with a bit of difficultly, "M-misssssed."

She smirks, "Think again, Jolly Green Giant! Kai!" He glances around quickly to see all of the weapons on the ground around him having paper tags connected to their handles. All of the tags glow brightly. He looks back up at her and lets out a loud roar of sheer rage as the tags detonate in a large explosion. She is thrown back by the aftershock of the blast, bouncing along the ground for a few feet before regaining her footing and tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Game over, ugly." The demon stumbles forward a few steps out of the smoke. She frowns and says weakly, "You're still alive? That puts a kink in my plans for today." He growls and then rushes forward with his claws extended. She dashes towards her while drawing her last two kunai. She glances at them and thinks, 'Better make them count! Last ones!' She forces chakra to her feet and forces herself forward faster. As the demon's claws near her face, she drops to the ground and slides down between his legs. The claws tear up the ground where she was and he almost falls over while looking at where she went. She stabs the ground with the kunai to stop herself before leaping into the air and landing on his wide muscular back. She plunges the blades hard into his back and does a back flip off. He turns around and slashes at her, but barely nicks her ponytail. She lands safely and forms a hand sign quickly. "Kai!" The tags connected to the kunai explodes. The demon staggers to its knees as the explosion tears apart its back and chest cavity. He lets out a gurgled growl at her as his claws grip and tear up the ground in front of him. "Just die already!" she screams at him. His growling finally ceases and he falls forward. He lands with a loud thud in front of her, finally dead. She lets out a deep breath and sighs. Her shoulders sag forward and she pants, "Finally, it's over."

**With Joyce:**

Four demons and vampires stand back and stare at her in shock. Around her are the bodies of their pals that either are missing their torsos, have large wholes through their stomachs, or are missing limbs. She is holding up one finger to them and gesturing them forward before clenching her hand back into a fist. A vampire whispers to a demon, "I know we were paid a lot for this, but did you get paid enough for this?" The demon slowly shakes its head with its eyes never leaving the Sannin.

Suddenly, Joyce swings her left side of her body backwards just as another shot rings out, missing her. 'Got you!' she thinks, as she jumps high and towards the shooter. 'Even though you moved each time and was somehow able to masked your presents somewhat, I know I would eventually pinpoint your location.' As she jumps, she grabs several kunai and explosive notes from her pouch, putting an explosive note with each kunai. When she gets to the height of her jump, she throws the kunai at the shooters location.

For the sniper, it looked like Joyce had just stepped out of the way of his shoot just as he pulled the trigger, and then she disappeared. He looked around quickly but could not find her. He was just about to leave and make his way to the next position like the last times he shot, when he heard several thumping sounds around him. He looks just in time to see one of the kunai that had landed near him with a burning piece of paper on, just before it and the rest explode.

Joyce smiled from on top of a tree and jumped back to the four she had left behind and smiled at them again. "So much for your sniper." She says, while continuing to smile and without taking her eyes off of them.

"There isn't enough cash in this world to be enough for this!" one of the demons grumbles in a gravelly voice.

The vampire nods in agreement and slowly calls to Joyce, "Ma'am, I know that we're trying to kill you and all, but do you mind if we just run away?"

"Be my guest," she smirks. "But you had better be faster than I am." The vampire looks even paler than it normally is and gulps.

He whispers to the demon, "I don't have to outrun her."

"You don't?" the demon inquires incredulously.

The vampire stares at the demon intently, "I just have to be faster than you!" He stabs the demon in the leg with a knife and takes off running. The remaining uninjured demon and vampire take off after the first one in a panic.

The demon shouts after them, "Cowards!" He turns back to face the Sannin but she is gone. "Huh?" He hears screams and yells of pain and terror in the forest behind him. He slowly turns around to see what it is and finds Joyce standing over their dead bodies while flexing three fingers. "You did that all with three fingers?" he exclaims.

She slowly grins, "Three enemies, three fingers. You're only one demon. I have ten fingers." He slowly gulps. "Now," she continues while advancing on his position slowly, "You are going to tell me everything I want to know." He tries to move, but the killer intent radiating off of her is pinning him in place. Seeing the remnants of the bodies of his former friends and the very scary woman approaching him, he does the best thing that he knows how to do. He starts rambling as if his life depended on it, telling her everything that he has ever done wrong from age three till present day, in detail and how much he regretted every single deed. He is in tears before he finishes. She stands in front of him with a notebook taking notes. The killer intent continues pulsating off of her while she writes down any relevant information with an even scarier smile. After he finishes, she inquires politely, "Is there anything else?"

"And I took a tootsie roll from the hardware store without paying for it! I'm so sorry!!" he says frantically.

She smiles and leans in close to him. Joyce whispers in his ear, "I want you to go earn honest money, open a charity for orphans, and become the proud sponsor for a new branch of the Red Cross in Sunnydale or any of the surrounding communities. Do you understand?" He nods so quickly she is almost afraid that he will suffer from whiplash. "Good. If you don't, I will know." He pales into a deathly white. "Now get out of my sight." The killer intent disappears. Without a moment's hesitation, he takes off running for the next town as if a hellhound were on his heels, apparently forgetting all about the knife sticking out of his leg and leaving a trail of blood.

The team heal themselves as they gather back together. "Report your status," orders Joyce tiredly.

Harmony sighs, "I am soo tired! Who were those guys?"

Willow answers, "I don't know, but I'm alive." She pulls a blade out of her side and heals the wound.

Joyce activates her radio set and attempts to make contact with the library. "This is Tsunade, reporting in! Can anyone here me? Please respond." She waits for an answer but only receives static. She frowns and glances at her students, "Let's head back. Be ready for anything when we reach the library. It could be another trap." Willow and Harmony nod understandingly but wearily. They sprint into the forest, healing more of their wounds as they go.

At the Library Right After the Check In Time for Joyce's Team:

"Shizune, out," Miss Calendar says as she breaks off the transmission. She sets down the microphone and turns to the others to say something when the far wall explodes towards them. The trio jumps back and tilts a table back to stop any debris from hitting them. They glance out from behind the table to see a bus sticking out of the wall with demons and vampires pouring out of it.

Amy says loudly, "Did you invite them?" Jenny shakes her head quickly.

Kendra spins Mr. Pointy between her fingers and growls, "We have uninvited guests."

Jenny states coldly, "They're getting braver. Let's put the fear of US back into them, shall we?" The vampires and demons charge forward when the three ninja seem to disappear. They reappear near the middle of the group and starts stabbing and slashing at their ranks with lethal results.

Kendra staggers as a shot rings out. She glances at her barely grazed right elbow and stares in the direction that the sound came from in the direction of the bus. "This is my favorite shirt," she snarls. Blue chakra starts sparking from her fingertips. She flashes through hand signs and shouts, "Lightning Style: Lightning Tiger Jutsu!" Electricity sparks off of her and forms a large tiger made out of lightning. It roars and charges at the bus, ripping through the side of it when it pounces through the front window. The glass shatters and the woman dressed like a police officer screams as electricity courses through her body and starts roasting her from the inside out. The tiger dissipates through the metallic bus, leaving behind a charcoal heap in the driver's seat.

The library door suddenly shatters open and a motorcycle drives into the center of the room with two people on it, followed by several more demons and vampires. The driver, a demon in biker's clothing, shouts, "Somebody didn't invite us to the party!" Miss Calendar quickly pulls back her sleeve and launches four needles from her sebon launcher. The demon is impacted with the needles in the chest and throat. He laughs as he takes off his open leather jacket. "What's that supposed to do?" The other rider glances at the needles and notices a very small orb connected to each of the needle's ends, draining quickly of a greenish liquid. The biker demon suddenly spasms and roars with pain. The acid seeps through the demon's bloodstream, tearing him from the inside out. He collapses, blood running out of his fingers, toes, and eyes. She launches another barrage and the second rider ducks behind the motorcycle, one lodging itself in his helmet. He quickly tosses his helmet away and glares at the dark haired woman.

Kendra and Amy dart forward, slashing and stabbing viciously. Kendra pushes them back while Amy jumps back and pulls out her flute. She starts playing a haunting melody that fills the library. The demons and vampires start straining against the air. They look around and see chains blasting out of the floor and walls, pinning them in place. The remaining man from the motorcycle steps forward and slowly smirks. His form wavers and he collapses into a pile of maggots. The multitude of bugs crawls forward slowly en mass. Amy frowns darkly at the oncoming maggots and gestures with her eyes at the trapped demons and vampires. Calendar nods and she and Kendra rush forward, smoothly executing them one by one. Amy slowly moves the flute from her lips to allow the bodies to fall and the bugs to reform into a solid form. He grins and quickly walks towards her. She returns his grin with a smirk of her own and quickly slides four tags from her pouch. Amy launches the paper tags with odd symbols on them on the ground around him in a tight square in quick succession before forming a hand sign. "Ninja Art: Cage Barrier!" she shouts. A purple barrier quickly shoots up from the tags, preventing him from leaving the barrier. "Shizune, fireball!"

Miss Calendar forms hand signs and states, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" She breathes out a large fireball that flows through the barrier and covers the bug man. He falls into a heap of roasting maggots and when the last one stops moving, Amy unseals the barrier.

Kendra looks around at the corpses and calls to Miss Calendar, "What was that all about?"

Miss Calendar replies, "Give me a second!" She turns on the radio and instantly receives loud static. She picks up the phone and frowns. "The phone is dead." She pulls out her cell phone and raises an eyebrow. "I'm getting no service. What is going on here!"

"We should go look for the away team," Amy states.

Kendra shakes her head, "We should stay here in case the away team comes back."

"We stay for now until we get instructions. We should remain in familiar area where the other teams can find us," Miss Calendar answers. Amy frowns but nods.

Kendra says as she takes in the carnage, "Let's hope nothing else goes wrong."

**

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Read and Review!

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	8. Chapter 8

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Disclaimer: See chapter 1

**

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**

**Summer's House 15 minutes before the Attacks: **

Angel hugs Buffy goodbye and walks away from the house. Buffy gazes after him wistfully before closing the door and going into her house. He walks down the street and pauses on the street corner when he senses a presence behind him. Joyce says with her arms crossed, "So, Angel, how are you handling Kakashi's…habits?"

He glances over his shoulder at her, "There haven't been any problems. My tardiness has improved a lot and there are no Icha Icha books in this universe to read."

"No problems at all?" she inquires. She leans back against the lamppost. "That's weird. Andrew seems to be more brash like Naruto. Dawn is shyer like Hinata. Even myself, I have to stop myself from gambling and drinking myself into oblivion. But, you have no problems to speak of?"

He starts sweating and shakes his head quickly, "Well…not really!"

"Kakashi, you wouldn't lie to Buffy, would you?" she says slowly. "Or to your Hokage?"

He scratches the back of his head nervously. "Well, now that you mention it…every now and then…I have a strong urge to read the one Icha Icha book that came with the costume. But it's only one book!"

Joyce raises an eyebrow, "Only urges?"

He sighs with defeat, "Okay, I read it every once and awhile."

Joyce smirks, "As long as you haven't turned completely into a pervert, I guess I can let that slide, considering my own urges. However, I'm surprised you only have one book. Giles doesn't think I know, but he has been writing a little in his spare time."

"Really!" he says with excitement. At her stern glare, he says slightly calmer, "I mean, is that so?"

"Yes, it is," Joyce states. "I let you keep your book, but I have something else I want to talk to you about. You are over two hundred years old and you are dating my daughter."

Angel replies slowly, "You have a point, but I'm only physically in my twenties. Not only that, but I have a pulse now. I have a slight feeling that the pulse is very important."

"Once again, you are correct," Joyce confirms. "I also know you are trying to get a normal life going again. Well, as normal as circumstances around us allow. You may continue seeing my daughter." He nods gratefully. "But!" she continues, "If you ever hurt her…" She smiles pleasantly and flicks the lamppost with a finger. The lamppost goes flying into the sky and disappears into the clouds. "That will be the beginning."

Sweating heavily, Angel says, "Understood!"

"One last thing," Joyce says with the scary smile staying on her face. "Try to cut back on your reading of that book."

"Yes, ma'am," he answers. "I'm already working on it by reading other books!"

"Be sure that you do," she smirks before walking back to her house.

Angel sighs and glares up into a nearby tree. "What do you want, Faith?"

Faith hops out of the tree and grins, "Nothing much. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"No," he replies. He starts to walk away.

She runs up to him and smirks, "I'm not letting this drop until I get an answer! I might even start following you around."

"You're already doing that," Angel snaps. "Plus, Buffy wouldn't like that very much."

"True!" she chirps as she grabs his arm. "But then she will take it out on you."

He pulls his arm away and scowls, "You're going to get me killed."

"Only if I don't get an answer to what happened at that warehouse!" she grins. He groans with frustration.

Glaring at her, he inquires, "If I tell you, will you leave me alone once and for all?"

She grins, "Absolutely…unless Joyce teams me up with you, or if I get bored, or if I feel like bugging you, or if you look bored, or—"

"I get it!" he shouts. She smiles innocently at him.

"Do you two need a moment alone?" a voice says from behind them.

Angel shouts as he stops walking, "No!" He thinks about it and then slowly turns around. "James? I thought I told you to get out of town."

Faith grins, "I _do_ recall that minor detail! That, and that you'd kill him if you saw his ugly mug around here again."

"Ah, Faith! Or should I call you Anko?" James smirks while crossing his arms over his chest. The playfulness on her face vanishes and is replaced with a dangerously calm stare.

Faith grinds out slowly, "How did you know that little tidbit of information?"

"Oh, I know a lot of things now. Isn't that right, Angel…or should I call you Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye?" James says with his smirk growing wider. Angel's visible eye widens slightly.

Angel replies, "That's some interesting names you got there. Care to tell us where you got them?"

"I seem to forget," James says, scratching his chin absently. "Maybe someone can jog my memory. Whip, Gunner, do you remember where I got those names?" Two figures step out of the alleys from opposing sides of the street behind them. One of them appears to be a vampire wearing a cowboy hat and holding two 9mm pistols and holsters. The other is some sort of demon with strange bulges on the underside of his wrists. Several demons and vampires file out of the alleys behind them to block the street. The two ninja glance behind them at the new enemies and look back at James to see demons and vampires gathering behind him.

Angel raises an eyebrow and says in a bored tone, "You do realize that even with this help, we are still going to get the information out of you and then kill you without a problem."

"I don't know about that," grins James mischievously.

Angel looks around again slowly and says, "If you know those names, than you know something about those people and their skills. It's suicide to attack us."

James smirks, "I don't give information to corpses."

"You're one to talk," Angel retorts.

Faith shouts, "Enough with the talking! Let's kill them already! This is boring!" She draws two kunai and rushes towards the vampires and demons around the newcomers. She quickly dispatches of several of them with ease.

Angel sighs and draws a kunai. "Alright, let's dance." James' eyes widen and Angel moves in a blur towards him. The demons and vampires jump in front of James and attack, only to be mowed down by the ninja's blade. James steps back and watches him advance.

Faith hears a click and quickly replaces herself with a nearby demon. Blood splatters as a gunshot goes off and the demon's head explodes. She tosses a kunai in the direction of the shot, but the vampire dodges with both pistols in his hand, firing at her repeatedly. She rolls between vampires and demons, replacing herself with a few of them as she moves closer to him. She thinks, _'This is getting old really fast!'_ She grabs two of the fallen demons and holds them up to make a shield. She rushes as fast as she can while carrying them. When she gets close enough, she throws them at the vampire, who sidesteps the falling bodies, only to feel a sharp pain in his chest. He looks down to see a stake sticking out of a snake's mouth through his chest. It hisses at him and he screams, exploding into fiery ash. Anko coos as the snake retracts into her sleeve, "That's a good girl."

She senses someone behind her and rolls out of the way just in time to avoid a large metal-like tentacle smashing into where she was. She jumps backwards, throwing kunai at the newcomer. A second tentacle shoots out of the demon's wrist, deflecting the weapons. The remaining demons and vampires rush her again. She quickly runs through hand signs and shouts, "Earth Style: Earth Spike Jutsu!" The rushing demons and vampires are impaled when spikes shoot out from around her feet and into their chests, heads, necks, or all of the above. She flies through another set of hand signs and continues, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" She breathes out a very large fireball that engulfs the skewered opponents.

Just as the fireball hits the enemies, the whip-wielding demon leaps over the fireball and pounces on her. His tentacles impale her shoulders and he growls, "Got you!" She smirks and then turns into mud in his hands. "Huh??"

"I got you," she replies from behind him. He turns around just in time to see a kunai being jabbed towards his eye. That's the last thing he ever sees. Faith yanks the bloody kunai from his skull and kicks over his body into the pile of mud. "Not a bad fight after all! Maybe I should hang around Angel more often!" She gazes over to where Angel is fighting. Her eyes widen with surprise.

**Beginning of Angel's Fight: **

James watches with amusement as Angel quickly dispatches his lackeys into the afterlife, again, for some of them. The last of the enemies fall around Angel when suddenly, several shuriken fly out at him. Angel dodges them but they angle around behind him. Suddenly, wires tighten around him and he's flung into a tree behind him. The shuriken make solid _thunk_ sounds into the bark. "This is a ninja technique!" Angel says in surprise. "How could you possibly know this, unless you had training?!"

"Who says I didn't?" James retorts evenly while he draws a kunai from a pouch behind him. He nears Angel when the wires snap and fall to the ground. Angel extends the knife from his sleeve and grips it tightly.

Angel snarls, "You're going to tell me who it is." He darts at James again. Angel weaves to the right and swings his blade down at him, but James blocks with his left hand and stabs at him in the stomach with his blade in his right hand. Angel smoothly blocks the jab with his left hand and spins around, reversing the grip on his kunai, to try to stab him in the back. The vampire drops low and kicks up at his kidney area. Angel is propelled into the air which turns into a front flip, ending with him landing on his feet. He instantly spins on his heels as he slides back a few feet. Holding his side, he thinks, _'I guess I'll have to take this up a notch.'_

"Let's take this up a level!" grins James evilly. A wave of dark chakra emanates from the vampire and black squares slowly spread out from his neck and cover his body.

Angel stares in shock. "A curse mark?!" James blurs forward and stabs at him again. Angel manages to snap out of his shock in time to deflect the knife with his left hand but gets a punch in the face, followed by a back leg crescent kick which disarms him and sends the knife flying. James tries to stab him with an upwards swing, and Angel grabs his wrist and turns him away, holding onto the wrist and pushing down on the elbow, driving the vampire into the dirt. "Tell me who did this to you, James! If you don't, I'll snap your arm!" James grins and disappears in a puff of smoke to reveal a log in his place. Angel frowns and back flips just in time to avoid a kunai.

James flashes through hand signs and shouts, "Earth Style: Stone Crusher Jutsu!" Earth slabs on either side of Angel slap up to try to smash him. Angel instinctively dodges upwards and back; he looks back up at James to see him finish the hand signs. He hears James shouting, "Lightning Style: Grand Lightning Bolt Jutsu!"

Kakashi forms a few hand signs and replies loudly, "Chidori!" He sprints forward and thrusts the lightning blade in front of him just in time to meet with the lightning bolt. The electrical energy splits into two and slams into the ground behind him. James' eyes widen as he sees him coming towards him and jumps out of the path of the Chidori just in time, but the lightning blade nicks his left shoulder.

James pants a little and says tiredly, "I guess first stage isn't enough!" He focuses and the squares connect and cover his skin, turning it dark reddish brown. His wrinkled forehead appears and becomes pronounced to the point where he could be confused with a Klingon. His fangs grow longer and thicker while a pair of bat wings sprouts from his back. His ears grow slightly longer and pointy. His fingernails become more like claws.

Faith runs over to Angel and growls, "What is this!?"

"Advanced Curse Mark," Angel says with a deep frown.

Faith stops and glares at James dangerously. "Curse Mark? That's impossible. Only Orochimaru can give someone a curse mark."

"Then it appears that we have something to talk to Warren about later," replies Angel coldly. "Until then, let's kick his butt." Anko slowly grins and nods in agreement. He calls to James, "Congratulations, boy! You're the first person who gets to see me go full out with my Sharingan in this verse!" He smirks as he lifts up his headband to reveal the twirling totems of his eye. James lets out a guttural growl in response while flexing his claws. Angel says to Faith quickly, "Remember that since this is two on one, we want to keep him between us so that one of us can get a hit in for sure."

"I'm not a Genin, you know," she grumbles.

Angel smirks slightly and says, "Go." He darts to the left while she darts to the right towards James. The transformed vampire looks back and forth between them and crouches into a ready stance, his wings curling to stab out at whatever one strikes first. Faith slides to a stop and runs through hand signs. She ends the string and shouts, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" She breathes out multiple fire balls at him. Meanwhile, Angel throws a flurry of shuriken. James blocks the shuriken with one wing while blocking the fireballs with the other. He roars with pain and retracts his wings, one having scorch marks and holes in it while the other is riddled with the small sharp throwing stars.

James leaps backwards to get away from them and runs through hand signs. Faith sprints towards him, and Angel recognizes the hand signs. "Anko, stop!"

The vampire snarls in a deep voice, "Lightning Style: Lightning Barrier Jutsu!" Electricity shoots off of his body in all directions to form a barely visible shield. Faith tries to stop but she is going to fast and runs into the barrier. She flies backwards with a cry and smoke rising from her clothes. James leaps forward and snags her by the wrist. He grabs her neck with his other hand and bellows, "You killed Elizabeth! Now I'll kill you!"

Angel darts forward and throws a kunai. James spots the kunai coming and steps out of the way. He looks back to where his captive is to see her melt into a pile of mud in his hands. "Thanks for the distraction," Faith gasps from beside Angel. He nods and drops into a defensive stance. Running through hand signs, Faith shouts, "Earth Style: Snake Surprise Jutsu!" Angel raises an eyebrow and watches as large snakes made of stone leap out of the ground and bite onto each of the vampire's limbs and wings.

"Copy cat," he mumbles. She smirks and watches as he darts forward at their opponent. James channels more power from the curse seal and his fangs grow even longer and his wings start to heal slightly. He shatters the snakes with a wave of his arms and wings and barely manages to duck under Angel's punch. He leaps backwards and glares over at his sire with hatred burning in his eyes. Angel glares back into his eyes coldly.

James growls, "This is taking too long. I can't keep this up much longer…" His eyes dart to the right where Faith is sneaking up on him. James darts backwards and breaks into a full blown run. He looks over to see Angel running the same way as him, step for step. He slides to a stop and draws a kunai from his pouch with Angel doing the exact same thing in sync with him. The vampire tosses the kunai from hand to hand. Angel does the same with a smirk on his face. "Stop copying me!" roars James furiously. He throws the kunai at his sire while Angel does the same and the kunai bounce off each other. James jumps towards him with his fist pulled back. Angel and he jump forward and collide in midair. Angel catches James' punch with one hand and punches the vampire hard in the jaw, sending him flying back. Still in midair, Angel turns with his punch and gives James a spinning side kick directly in the chest. Flying backwards, James skids to a stop and starts running again with Angel mirroring his actions once more. James roars, with Angel speaking simultaneously with him, "I said stop copying me!" The vampire stops and runs through hand signs. Angel's Sharingan eye spins quicker as he runs through the same hand signs. They shout, "Earth Style: Earth Wave Jutsu!" Small tidal waves of stone and dirt roll up from in front of each of them and form into large waves heading directly towards each other. As the waves crash into each other to form a large mound, the two fighters leap into the air towards each other.

Two shuriken fly through the air and go past James, only for the wires connected to them to jerk slightly to wrap around him. He looks over to the source of the wires to see a grinning Faith. She breathes out small fireballs that travel up the wires, surrounding both of the shuriken and wires in flames. A log appears in James' place at the last moment. Angel and James stand next to the mound facing each other, panting slightly. James says loudly between panting, "I…will…not…Lose to You!!" James runs forward at Angel with his claws bared. His jaw extends like that of a snake and his very long fangs aim directly for Angel's head. He flies to the side in midair due to a strong flying side kick from Faith.

"I had him," Angel frowns.

Faith pants a little and grins, "I know, but I had him with _style_!" Angel rolls his eyes at her antics and glances over to where James fell. He is gone.

**A Hundred Yards Away: **

James rises out of the ground. His wings, claws, and fangs slowly move back to their original locations, the wings disappearing. He fades to his skin being covered in black squares. The squares separate from each other and recede back into the curse mark. He falls to his knees and pants heavily, his body racked with pain, "Next time, I'll kill you both!"

**Back with Faith and Angel: **

Faith looks around and comments, "I think he's gone."

Pulling his headband over his Sharingan eye, Angel replies, "I agree." He tries to take a step forward but stumbles. Faith hurriedly catches him and puts his arm over her shoulders. "Now I know why Kakashi used his Sharingan sparingly. It uses up a lot of chakra," he murmurs.

"Stop whining so I can get you home in one piece," says Faith with a frown. "I don't have to save you, you know! I just think that you're too fun to let die just yet!"

"Great to know, anyways, we'd better get to the library to report this," Angel continues. She nods and they start heading towards the library.

Faith flips open her cell phone with her free hand and frowns, "That's strange. We should easily be getting a signal here, but I'm not getting anything."

"What about the radio?" Angel inquires.

Faith frowns, "I don't have one on me. How about you?"

"I didn't bring one either. It's not as if I was expecting to be ambushed!" Angel replies dryly. "I guess we'll just have to walk there."

Faith sighs dramatically, "This is such a drag."

"You're watching too much anime," Angel smirks. She growls at him, causing him to laugh while she helps him walk.

* * *

Omake:

Angel darts forward and throws a kunai. James spots the kunai coming and steps out of the way. He looks back to where his captive is to see her melt into a pile of mud in his hands. "Thanks for the distraction," Faith gasps from beside Angel. He nods and drops into a defensive stance. They look into each other's eyes and nod.

They cup their hands to their sides and say simultaneously, "Kaaaa-maaaa-haaa-maaa-haa!" Twin beams of blue and white energy shoot from their hands and hits James.

As his body disintegrates, James murmurs, "Wrong…universe!" Angel and Faith give each other a high five and walk away, satisfied with a job well done.

**

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Read and Review!

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	9. Chapter 9

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Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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**Sunnydale Library:  
**  
Joyce's team rushes through the broken doors of the library and look around to see the huge mess and the bus in the wall. Willow whines, "Oh great. How are we going to explain this to Snyder?"

Miss Calendar looks up at the team and smiles, "You made it!"

"How long ago did this happen?" questions Joyce quickly.

The computer teacher answers, "About half an hour ago."

Joyce glances at Harmony and Willow before saying slowly, "That's about the time we were hit. It was an ambush."

Amy gestures to the bus with her thumb and grunts, "Ditto."

Harmony asks, "Why didn't you call for help?"

"We couldn't," Kendra states.

Joyce frowns, "You were jammed too?"

Miss Calendar nods and replies, "Yes. Even the landlines were down."

"How'd something like this happen?" Willow asks, slightly in shock.

Joyce says slowly, "Either we've been watched very carefully without us knowing, which is highly unlikely; or someone in our ranks has been giving them information."

"We think it might be Warren," says Faith from the doorway. They turn to see Angel leaning against Faith, both of them covered in small injuries.

"Warren?" asks Joyce. "What makes you think he is behind this?"

Faith growls, "Let me think really hard! I think it might be the fact that we just fought a vampire who could use ninjutsu, fought like a ninja, had a curse mark on him, and was able to go a second stage of curse mark before he escaped."

Willow tilts her head curiously and says, "Second stage?"

Amy grips her flute tighter and whispers, "Oh no." She sits down and stares at her flute while trying to gather her thoughts.

"You know about this, Amy?" Joyce inquires, glancing over at the stunned girl.

Amy frowns darkly, "The curse seal has two stages. At first stage, the person gets covered in black shapes, which some of you have seen. In the second stage, the person's skin changes color and unique features appear depending on who you are. The longer you use the curse mark, the more enslaved to Orochimaru's will you are. It slowly erodes your soul away the longer it is activated. At the first level, it can turn a Genin level ninja to high Chunin in abilities, speed, and strength. Depending at what level you already are and who you are will determine how high the boost is."

"What about the second level?" Willow asks quickly.

Amy stares at her coldly, "Anywhere from a special Jonin to high Jonin, maybe even Kage level. You don't want to be around when someone goes second stage."

Harmony says loudly, "Kage level?"

"The highest ranking member of the Sound Five who was going to be Orochimaru's new vessel, which was passed by because of a terminal illness, could at second stage give the Kazekage or Hokage a run for their money! He even assisted Orochimaru in killing the Fourth Kazekage for the invasion," responds Amy. Kendra nods slowly while Harmony and Sakura exchange surprised glances.

Joyce states, "This could be a problem if there are more people with the second stage curse mark out there."

Sakura looks at the flute-wielding girls suspiciously. "You were one of Orochimaru's bodyguards? Does that mean you have the second stage curse mark too?"

Amy levels a glare at the redhead and retorts, "I haven't used it since Halloween. Giles put a seal on it so that it won't activate unless in life and death circumstances."

"Warren went as Orochimaru. Why doesn't he remove it?" Kendra inquires.

Rolling her eyes, Amy drawls with her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Well, I'm sure that Orochimaru spent years developing ways to take off the mark that makes people into his devote slaves and easier to control. After all, why wouldn't he want people to be completely under his control, right?" When Kendra shrugs, Amy continues, "Orochimaru wouldn't have done something like that. But, even if Warren has been working on a way to remove it, the overabundance of volunteers…all three of us, makes the work very quick, especially when the removal of it could kill us."

"You have a point," Kendra concedes quietly.

Amy says, "Giles and I already mentioned it to Warren, and he said he'd look into a way to remove the seal. He said that it would probably be unwise to just remove it right away without intensive study on the subject. Also, it would be pretty stupid to remove a volatile power source, however corrupt, from our allies when living on the Hellmouth where we might need it someday. Not only that, but if he messed up even slightly in his calculations, it could leave us either one man down or possibly unable to use chakra. The curse mark is interwoven with chakra and more or less superpowers it into whatever it needs."

"Like chakra steroids?" Miss Calendar inquires.

Amy smirks, "Basically."

"While this is good intel, we need to get back on the subject of Warren," Angel reminds them from a chair where he's resting.

Joyce frowns, "We'll call a meeting in the morning…" She notices Faith about to say something and continues quickly, "No, Faith, we are not going to kill, maim, torture, or otherwise dismember him." Faith sighs and Joyce inserts, "At least, not right away." Faith's grin comes back in full force, making Willow and Harmony shiver from the bloodlust leaking off of her. Joyce says, "We'll call the teams in early and have Warren arrive an hour or two afterwards so we have some time to talk about it and set up any necessary preparations in case he is the guilty party." She glares at Angel with some killer intent radiating off of her, "Warren will be the only member of the ninjas that will be late. Right, Angel?" He smiles weakly and looks like he's about to shrug when the killer intent doubles. The former vampire quickly nods in agreement. "One more thing before we go home for the night," she says. The group looks at her curiously. "I interrogated a demon that attacked us. They were working with the Order of Tekara to take us out. He said that they were hired by a vampire named James." She looks over at Faith and Angel.

Faith growls, "I am going to kill him!"

Angel simply nods and murmurs, "That's what I thought."

"I thought you said you took care of him," Joyce states. "This is the same James, isn't it?"

Angel scratches the back of his head nervously and smiles, "Well…it's a long story…"

"Yeah, he let the little weasel go," Faith snaps. "I don't know what history those two had, but next time, I am going to tear out that little blood sucker's liver and shove it through his ear! Then I'll take his kidney and stick it through his arm. Then I'll…" and she rambles on about all the different things she is going to do with various body parts when she eventually gets her hands on him again, several of which make the other ninjas turn green at the descriptions.

Angel sighs, "Yep. She's definitely Anko."

Harmony says in a mysterious tone, "She's channeling her inner Anko."

"That's okay, Harmony," grins Faith evilly. "You always channel your inner Ino perfectly."

"Thanks…wait a second! Is that an insult?" Harmony screeches. Faith smirks and ignores her.

Willow mumbles under her breath, "Got it in one, Harmony-pig. Amazing."

Miss Calendar ignores the blonde's rambling and says calmly, "I found the Order of Tekara's rings on the corpses. I matched it with the computer records and they're a match. The Order of Tekara is out for our heads. Not that they'll be very successful," she steals a glance at the still rambling Harmony. She murmurs under her breath, "Though some heads should be taken, if I do say so myself."

"Thank you for that information, Shizune," Joyce smiles. She thinks, 'You think you got it bad, Calendar? I'm training the girl!'

Angel says slowly while he gazes at the rings in Miss Calendar's hand, "I think that two or three of the demons and vampires we were fighting were sent by the Order."

Faith frowns and stares down at them for a few long seconds before announcing, "Yep! Those were on Whippy and Trigger-happy!"

"Whippy and Trigger-happy?" inquires Joyce with a raised eyebrow.

Faith grins, "They didn't give out their names, so I had to come up with some that fit them! What else could I do?"

Joyce just stares at her for a little while before looking away and murmuring something about wishing she could have a talk with Ibiki about his apprentices. "Anyways," Joyce says loud enough for everyone to hear, "Here is what we're going to do for tomorrow…"

**The Next Day:**

Warren walks into the library at 8 o'clock sharp for the meeting while quickly paging through a file that he's holding. He looks up at the group just in time to see Oz raising his hand. "Huh?" he says quietly. Suddenly, sand gathers from the floor and encases him in a solid coffin leaving only his head exposed. Amy forms a hand sign and a three wall barrier activates around him. "Uh…if this is about the prank radio calls, Jonathan put me up to it!"

"This isn't about the prank calls, Warren," Joyce states coldly. "Wait! That was you?"

"It was Andrew too!" he says quickly.

She glances between the two boys and answers, "We'll deal with that later." She looks back at Warren with hard eyes.

"So what did I miss?" Warren says with a nervous smile.

Oz intones, "Can I crush him now?"

"Not yet," Joyce responds. Warren gulps hard.

Faith snaps, "You can't crush him! I get to…" and once again, the ramble begins. Joyce quickly cuts it off.

"What did I do!?" Warren practically shouts from his restraints.

"Ah yes!" Joyce smiles with a very scary calmness to her voice. "There seems to be a vampire running around Sunnydale."

"And this is unusual because…?" he says slowly.

Joyce frowns, "He used a second stage curse mark."

"Oh, that's all…What?!" Warren exclaims with wide eyes. "How did a vampire get a curse seal, let alone a second stage?"

Faith grinds out, "We were hoping to torture it out of you."

"She means that she was hoping you could tell us," Joyce corrects. "Oh! Did I forget to mention that he could use ninja techniques?"

Warren says dryly, "I think you might have skipped over that part."

"Anything, to say for yourself before I remove everything that makes you a man?" Faith growls while spinning a kunai between her fingers. Cordelia rolls her eyes at the other girl's antics, twirling two shuriken between her fingers.

Warren says hesitantly, "Well…there are only a few options on how he could have gotten it. #1, he could have had that tattoo on his neck during Halloween but we missed him…"

Angel frowns, "Impossible. He wasn't here during Halloween and didn't have it when he showed up the first time."

"First time? Angel, don't tell me you let one get away!" Warren groans. At Angel's glare, he sighs, "You did. Well, the second choice is that there is another Orochimaru running around. There could have been more than one set of costumes that we know of! The third choice is that Orochimaru somehow downloaded himself down into another body before Halloween was over. My memories of his possession from that night are fairly vague. The fourth choice is that I really am Orochimaru and I am fooling you all!" He lets out an evil chuckle that sounds exactly like the Snake Sannin. He quickly stops his laughing when the sand constricts around him tightly. He weezes, "That was a joke! I'm Warren, not the Snake Man!"

Oz intones, "Can I kill him now?"

"Not yet," Joyce replies again.

Warren sighs in relief and continues, "But, the fifth choice is that he is somehow still inside of me but that I am completely unaware of his presence. He could take over when I go to sleep, but that is highly unlikely."

Giles inserts, "The sixth choice is that Ethan is out selling anime costumes elsewhere and arranged for another Orochimaru to be made, if not going as Orochimaru himself."

Joyce turns to Giles and replies, "He came up with many of the same possibilities that we did. Now all we have to do is figure out which one it is."

Faith grins sadistically while holding up a kunai, "I can help with that!"

"Unfortunately, yes, we will need your help since Ibiki isn't here," Joyce answers.

Faith grins wider, "Don't worry! I'll make sure he's alive throughout the entire process. All the way, up to the very end."

Giles sighs, "Only because we'll be there. Didn't Ibiki train you?"

"Oh yes indeed," cackles Faith evilly. "Now, for some field experience!"

Joyce states, "You'll follow my orders exactly. No more, no less. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," she grumbles. "Party pooper," she mumbles under her breath.

Joyce glances at her sharply, "I heard that."

"My profoundest apologies, Lady Summers," Faith retorts sarcastically. "Can I start now?"

"I want Giles, myself, Faith, Angel, Amy, and Oz to stay behind for the interrogation. Everyone else, out," Joyce orders.

Spike scowls at being left out of what he would consider fun as both Zabuza and a vampire, but decides to let it go without a fuss. He heads for the door with Drusilla close behind him. The rest of the ninjas file out after them.

**Two Hours Later:  
**  
The group waits outside of the library until Faith walks out with a disappointed look on her face. "You can come back in," she grumbles. "He's still alive." They slowly wander back into the library to see Warren. The dark haired Sanin looks completely worn out sitting in a chair. Amy drops the barrier around him and the sand retracts from around him. Joyce slowly heals a large scrape on his hand while cuts and bruises cover any exposed skin he has.

Angel leans against a wall reading a small book. Buffy glances over his shoulder on the way in to make sure it's nothing perverted. He sighs, "Don't you trust me?"

"Always, love. Just make sure I never have a reason to burn any of your reading material," Buffy responds cheerfully while patting him on the cheek, both lovingly and warningly. He looks confused but goes back to his book.

Spike smirks while he visually inspects the worn out boy. "I assume from the lack of body parts and the fact that he's still breathing that he's clean?"

"He's clean," Giles replies. "However, we'll still be keeping an eye on him."

Drusilla tilts her head curiously, "Why would we do that if he's not guilty?"

"Because while they have determined that Orochimaru is not in control of his body right now, they cannot rule out that he might still be inside of him somewhere. The interrogation techniques and any memory scans will not help because the memories of Orochimaru while inhabiting Warren's body during Halloween and the information Warren absorbed from the experience is too closely mixed together to tell them apart. No matter who the techniques are used on in this group, the results would be the same because we were all possessed," Tara states condescendingly while glaring at Drusilla. "Any good ninja knows that!"

Andrew pipes up, "I didn't know that!"

"I rest my case," Tara smirks.

Andrew shouts, "Hey!" He quickly shuts up when her hand moves to her sword's hilt.

Joyce frowns, "Enough, Tara."

She bows quickly, "Yes, Lady Summers."

Joyce sighs but continues, "Thank you for the analysis. That saves time. As she said, Warren isn't Orochimaru, but there might be another one. We'll have to keep an eye out for the other one. Considering his knowledge of us, any enemies from here on out might be exceptionally dangerous."

Oz says quietly, "Does this mean that I can't crush him?"

"Correct," Amy says. His eyes darken and the sand slowly retracts from around his feet into the gourd, swishing about the container angrily. "Unless he proves himself to really be Orochimaru, then you can crush him into atoms." The sand stops swishing while Oz's face remains the same.

Warren stares warily at Oz. "I'm not Orochimaru. You do realize that, right?"

Oz glances at him, "We'll see."

"Anyways," Warren says, looking at the others, "Can I have my folder back?" Larry hands it to him from a nearby seat. "In light of what just happened," Warren says while opening the folder.

Joyce interrupts, "Are you sure you want to present these now, Warren?"

"It is the best time while I am still mostly out of suspicion," Warren replies.

Xander drawls, "Wow! That really puts my mind at ease. You might be Orochimaru despite what the tests say. Orochimaru is a Sanin, after all. Plus, you're trying to give us things to help us, which if you are Orochimaru, have some sort of weakness that you can exploit at a moment's notice. How reassuring…not."

Warren smirks, "Did it ever occur to you that if I tell you now, it'll give you all time to discover any weaknesses and counter it?"

Xander thinks for a long moment and replies, "Yeah, whatever."

Warren looks down at the paper-filled folder. "I got this idea from that robot Ted." Dawn grins while Joyce stares at her warningly. "We never know when we're going to need back up, especially with these weird enemies lately. I thought of a faster way to get our numbers up since training will take years! You can come in now!" Four figures in black ninja outfits leap through the back entrance to the library, armed with two ninja pouches on their belts, kunai holsters on each of their legs.

Jonathan glances at their weapons and each of them. "Nun chucks, a bo staff, sais, and twin swords. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles minus the turtles?"

"Isn't it great?" Warren grins.

Harmony rolls her eyes and mutters, "Oh brother. Nerds. What's so special about them?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" Warren continues cheerfully. They pull off their masks with a snap of his fingers to show human faces. "These are my new ninja bots!"

Jonathan raises an eyebrow, "Ninja robots?"

Andrew cheers, "This is so cool!"

"I know," Warren smirks proudly.

Harmony leans forward on the table, "Like I said, what's so special about them?"

"#1, they are as strong as or stronger than vampires. #2, they are more agile than most vampires. #3, they are for sure as fast as vampires. #4, they have been programmed in the ninja arts and are completely loyal to us!" Warren finishes. "Aren't I awesome?"

"No," Buffy states. He nearly anime face vaults, but realizes how painful that would be, catching himself in midair.

Andrew says loudly, "You mean they can do ninjutsu?"

"No!" scowls Warren. "You need chakra for ninjutsu. Though, I am looking into ways for them to use electricity in place of ninjutsu! They are mainly taijutsu and weapons masters."

"Like Bushy Brows!" exclaims Andrew. "I mean, Rock Lee!"

"Exactly," replies Warren.

Cordelia states coldly, "While he was my teammate, if you group me with him again in comparisons, I am going to turn you into a pincushion."

"I wasn't even thinking about you!" Warren retorts.

Cordelia practically growls, "Are you saying that you were talking about weapons masters and you weren't thinking about me?"

Warren raises an eyebrow, "Um…no, not really."

Cordelia snaps, "That does it! Die!" She jumps into the air and pulls out two scrolls. She shouts, "Rising Twin Dragons!"

Warren's eyes grow wide and he shouts, "What is this? Her period?!"

Buffy sighs and pulls out her giant fan. She throws a strong gust of wind at her, knocking Cordelia and her scrolls back into the wall. "While it would be fun to watch him run for his life for the next hour, Cordy, we don't have the time," Buffy says loud enough for her to hear. "Continue, snake boy."

"Thank you, I think," he says as his face slowly regains its color. "As I was saying, they are taijutsu and weapons masters, plus they can keep an eye on things while we are asleep since they don't need any rest. Every month they'll need a recharge and a maintenance checkup, but that's all. If we send them out to kill something or to patrol, they won't return until the creature is dead or they are too damaged to continue their mission. One last thing: they have internal radios, cameras, and GPS systems. They can communicate with us, send us pictures, and show their position at any time from anywhere. I hope to have more out soon."

Kendra raises an eyebrow, "Cool."

Joyce says, "Good job. You had something else to show them?"

Warren clears his throat and says slowly, "As the ambush of the Order of Tekara against Tsunade's team has aptly shown, none of us are invincible and are in danger of someday meeting an enemy who can kill or mortally wound us. With Tsunade's permission, I have been looking into a way to combat that possibility. Cloning. Using my body switching research and other genetic studies that Orochimaru has done in the past, I am on the road to perfecting a way to transfer any of our minds to the body of our clones, which will be identical to the ones you have now in every way. Of course, the new bodies will take some time to get used to and break in, but it shouldn't take more than a month or two to adjust. That is the maximum time it will take, if all goes well."

"Smart, but it's still dangerous," Willow points out.

Warren glares at her, "Isn't everything we do dangerous? That's why I said I'm on the road to perfecting it! It's not complete yet. Also, may I remind you where we are right now? We are sitting literally on top of a Hellmouth! We need every advantage that we can get."

"That is true. This room is directly on top of the opening of the Hellmouth," Giles inserts calmly. "By the way, Warren, because of the undergoing investigation on this Orochimaru character, we're going to have to post a team to watch you at night to check, out your laboratory, and to make sure you don't go anywhere to meet with our enemies, on the off chance that you are Orochimaru. You will also need to turn over all your notes to us so that we know what you are doing."

Warren sighs and grumbles with a dark expression on his face, "I know. I know."

Harmony says, "Hey! Does that mean more work for me?"

"With that attitude," Joyce answers with a slowly growing smile. "Consider it part of your training." Harmony groans as her forehead hits the table.

Giles leans over and whispers to Joyce, "Weren't you going to have her and Willow do that work anyways?"

"Don't spoil it," Joyce whispers back with a grin. She says loud enough for everyone to hear, "I think we should wind up the meeting for today. We'll give out the schedule for how we're going to arrange everything with Warren's work in a week or so. Also, since Warren quite accurately pointed out that we need to expand our numbers, I want you all to be on the lookout for people who might be good candidates for ninja training. Lastly, we've made new forehead protectors for all of us to show that we're all part of one organization."

Miss Calendar brings in a box and starts distributing the headbands. Xander glances over the forehead protector to see a circle with the leaf village, sand village, sound village, mist village, and rock village symbols inside of it. "As you can see," Joyce says, "It has all of our village symbols. It'll symbolize that we're united, despite the different villages that we hail from. Nobody will be able to break this unity."

"Not bad," Larry comments before he ties the headband on.

Joyce calls out, "Anything else before we leave?" When nobody says anything, she states, "Dismissed."

While everyone starts leaving, Jonathan approaches Joyce. "Mrs. Summers, in light of what has happened, I would like to increase Dawn's Hyuga training."

"Do it," Joyce responds. "Would an extra hour do?"

"It would," Jonathan nods. He bows slightly and leaves.

Giles walks up behind her and Joyce says, "Do you think this will be enough for what's coming?"

The librarian states, "It'll have to do. We are only human."

**

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	10. Chapter 10

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Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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**Order of Tekara's Secret Headquarters: **

In the center of a dark room is a brightly lit, floating table, shadows shrouding the faces of those sitting around it. "You checked everything?" a voice inquires.

"Of course, Lord Mage," another answers.

"How was this brought to us?" one rumbles. Its voice reverberates off of the thick concrete walls.

Another answers, "Via one of our drop off points. It is addressed to us. Highly unusual."

"It has not been tampered with?" the voice rumbles curiously.

A raspy voice sneers, "None would be so foolish to open a package addressed to us."

"It is clean?" the voice booms with authority.

The second voice murmurs, "It has been scanned for explosives, electronic devices, magic, poisons, and traps. The contents have been thoroughly searched. It is clean. It appears to contain two scrolls."

"Have the scrolls been opened?" inquires a deep demonic voice.

The raspy voice snarls, "Did you not hear my last statement? None would open our packages without our authorization."

"Hand us the package," a snake-like voice hisses. The box slides to the right corner of the table. Two clawed hands open the container and remove the two scrolls, handing them to the left and right of it. The nearby Tekarans slowly pull open the scrolls. The scrolls immediately start smoking. They toss the scrolls away into the middle of the table, which fall directly on top of each other in a crisscrossing pattern. A large plume of smoke rises from the scrolls and quickly vanishes to reveal three beings standing back to back.

One has a dark green robe and her hair is back in pigtails, her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides. The other has a large purple bow sticking out of the back of his long white robes and jet black hair. The last one has a strangely shaped metal forehead protector on it with a symbol that a demon from Japan recognizes as the symbol for Oil. The being's bright red robes and wooden shoes touch the table. The red-clad man states, "Hello. We're the Sanin. Goodbye."

The two men flash through hand signs and snakes fly out in a swarm from the purple-bowed man while oil spews out from the other man's mouth. The second quickly slides a lighter from his sleeve and ignites it as it flows onto the leadership of Tekara. As the two men hop into the air, the woman grins and quickly smashes her fist into the table in front of her. The magic enhanced table shatters and shockwaves roll in every direction. The demons and humans of the Tekaran Command are thrown against the solid walls from the shockwaves, some of them on fire and others with poisonous snakes covering their bodies. The Sanin land silently and stalk forward, a long sword sliding into one of their hands.

"This is the Grass Cutter Sword," the dark haired man coos. "Now I get to see if it works on more than grass." He lunges forward, his body extending and contorting as the sword slashes at the nearest members. The Tekaran Command has no time to react at the speed of which they are being slaughtered by the strange self proclaimed "Sanin." Demons splatter against the walls when the woman's fists make contact with their bodies.

A door bangs open and guards pour into the room, only to come face to face with the red clothed man. They lunge at him with their swords drawn. He murmurs, "Ninja Art: Needle Barrage Jutsu." His white hair grows longer and grows into large spikes. The thick hardened hair flies forward and makes the guards look like pincushions. He retracts his hair to reveal their severely pierced and mutilated bodies that drop to the ground lifelessly.

He glances over his shoulder. The man sees none of the leadership left alive. "That was fast. I'm summoning the boss!" he calls.

The woman stares at him wide-eyed. "You're What!?" The two other Sanin head for the doors and start running.

Quickly running through hand signs, he smashes his hands on the ground and shouts, "Summoning Jutsu!" Lines of symbols sprout from his hand in every direction and a cloud of smoke fills the room. The walls and ceiling shatter and fly away as a gigantic toad appears with the red clad man on his head. "Gamabunta, oil please!" he says loudly.

The boss toad grunts, "Why should I listen to your request, puny Jiraiya-wannabe?"

The man face vaults onto the toad and quickly recovers. "Because I summoned you, you big fat load of fish bait!" he shouts back angrily.

"Excuse me?" the boss slowly growls, one eye looking up at him.

The man sighs, "Just give me the oil already so you can go back to eating flies or something."

"Such disrespect! Such arrogance! Not even Jiraiya was this stupid!" Gamabunta roars.

The man smirks, "Jiraiya never had to level a base of assassins single handedly while using you. Now do it or I'll summon you over the ocean next time!"

"You wouldn't," Gamabunta grunts slowly.

The man's face breaks out into a wide grin. "You don't know me very well, do you? Aim for the wreckage below you. Make sure none escape."

"You've got guts, boy. I'll help you this once, but next time I want some respect first!" the toad grunts, muttering under its breath something about disrespectful whelps that should be eaten. Gamabunta takes a deep breath while his hands form into a hand sign. He opens his mouth wide and unleashes a torrent of oil onto the surrounding desert sands and pouring into the partially shattered base in front of him. Jumping back, Gamabunta hears the man shout, "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" He breathes out a very large fireball that heads directly into the oil covered base. The base gives a decent imitation of ground zero of a nuclear strike, complete with a bright red mushroom cloud. None escape the flames.

The man holds his hands in the air and cheers, "That was great!"

His two comrades leap onto the toad beside him with slightly charred clothing and soot covering their faces and hands. "You idiot!!" the woman shouts, bashing him over the head enough to throw him off Gamabunta and into the desert sands. The other man sighs and slowly shakes his head while he watches. "You deviated from the plan! There was nothing in the plan about summoning Gamabunta! You almost killed us, Rupert!"

Giles climbs out of the sandy dunes and grins, "But it worked out!"

"Next time you do something that stupid, I'm going to summon my own boss to cover your most valuable possessions in acid!"

"Most valuable possessions…" his voice trails off. His face drains of all color and his hands instinctively cover his waist.

The other man pipes up, "Let's get going back to base before you two kill each other! We need to let the others know the plan was a success."

"I know, Warren," the woman grinds out. "Next time, Giles! Next time!" Gamabunta smirks, takes a puff of his pipe, and leaps into the distance with the two Sanin on his back.

Giles hops after them, shouting, "Wait for me!"

**Meanwhile, Back in Sunnydale: **

Flipping through the pages of a dusty old book, James growls. He tosses the book aside roughly. "Useless! There has to be something in here powerful enough to destroy them! I will destroy them all!" he roars. He snatches another book from the waiting stack next to him. He flips through the pages and tosses it aside. "Why are all of these books useless?" He glares dangerously at the poor glasses-wearing minion beside him.

"Sir," another minion says hesitantly.

James turns to him furiously, "What?!"

"Um…sir, we've been through all of the books you told us to and there is still nothing," the minion stammers.

James growls, "Then go to the next one! Idiots!"

"S-sir?" it continues.

"This had better be good," James snarls.

The minion pales slightly but inquires, "Why don't we just ask for Lord Orochimaru's help?" When killer intent surrounds the minion in a nearly tangible form, it gulps and backs away quickly. "Never mind!"

"I would ask him," James grumbles, "But he told me 'I'll contact you, not the other way around. If you ever contact me, I'll kill you', the annoying little snakehead!" He flips through another book and tosses it over his shoulder, hitting the glasses-wearing minion in the head. He picks up another book and begins paging through it until something catches his attention. A grin slowly crosses his face as he reads, "The Judge…"

**After School at the Summer's House: **

Dawn calls out, "Mom! I'm home!" She wanders to the kitchen to see her mother cooking. "I found two people with a lot of ninja potential at school today."

"They have good fighting skills?" Joyce inquires.

Dawn shrugs reluctantly and admits, "Well, they're only semi-normal friends right now; but compared to everyone else, they have great chakra coils! I used my Byakugan. Them being my only normal friends is completely besides the point!"

"Sure it is," Joyce says while rolling her eyes. "Do these two 'friends' of yours have names?"

"Carlos and Kit!" Dawn declares proudly.

Joyce raises an eyebrow, "Sounds like a basketball player and a cat."

"Hey!" her daughter scowls.

Joyce smirks, "I'm just kidding."

"How are you planning on getting them involved with us?" Dawn inquires.

Joyce frowns slightly in thought. "You'll have to convince them to attend a martial arts demonstration that we'll put on soon. Can you do that?"

"It shouldn't be too hard," Dawn smiles. "But how was your little field trip to the Order?"

Joyce beamed happily, "It was quite fun." She mumbles under her breath, "He got to summon Gamabunta, the lucky dog." In a normal voice she continues, despite Dawn's strange look, "However, back to the order at hand, do you have any other people in mind that might be able to join our group?"

Xander, Willow, and Buffy walk in the front door while she asks Dawn the question. "Oh, hey, mom," Buffy says flippantly. "How'd your trip go?"

"It went well," Joyce replies. "Giles even went a little Jiraiya on us."

"He summoned Gamabunta?" Xander asks.

She frowns, "How'd you know?"

"Because Jiraiya never does anything half way," smirks Xander. "I heard your question. Remember the time we told you about when I got possessed by a hyena spirit?" When she nods, he continues, "I used my Sharingan to check out the other students and noticed that the people who were in my pack during that time have higher chakra levels than anyone else. I think the hyena spirits must have boosted their chakra levels to decent levels. They don't consider me their pal anymore, but they at least gained some respect for me during the event."

Dawn drawls, "Imagine that."

"Anyways!" Xander scowls. "They also seem to have gotten over the trauma of eating the principal."

"They ate the principal?" Dawn asks in shock.

Xander gives an uneasy smile. "Yeah, luckily, I was preoccupied with other things. Nothing really worth mentioning."

Joyce nods and makes a mental note of it. "Try to see if they can make it to a martial arts demonstration we're having soon. Giles and Ms. Calendar are going to arrange for us to borrow the gym for the demonstration. It's useful to have teachers on our staff. We're going to try to make it a fairly small crowd, just us and any potential recruits that we've found."

"That works, boss lady!" Xander salutes.

Willow stares at him and whispers harshly, "Are you insane?!" Memories of her training flash through her mind.

Xander grins, "That's still up for debate." Buffy rolls her eyes at her friend's antics.

Joyce ignores their short discussion and says, "That is six in total so far. Buffy, any potential ninjas on your end?"

She sighs, "Well…not really. The only person I could find who would be interested is that guy I dated last year Owen, but I think he's too risky. He just loves the adrenaline rush that comes with fighting. That's why I had to dump him after the first date."

Dawn smirks, "And the pot then called the kettle black…"

"Dawn," Buffy murmurs warningly. The younger sister smiles innocently.

Joyce smiles, "Well, Buffy, she does have a point."

"Not the point!" Buffy snaps.

Xander inserts, "Actually, that kind of is the point." He smiles under her glare.

Joyce frowns and asks, "Does he have the potential?"

Her daughter sighs and frowns in return. "Yes, he might have the potential, unfortunately."

"That makes seven," Joyce answers. "That's a good start for now. We will host the demonstration in three days. You all should have enough time to talk to the potentials and recruit them if necessary." They nod in agreement.

Buffy whines, "But, mom, do I have to?"

Joyce glances at her youngest daughter, "Do you think I should even dignify that one with an answer?" Dawn shakes her head.

"Not helping!" Buffy hisses. "I'll invite him to join us, but only if you insist!"

Joyce states calmly, "I insist." Buffy grumbles under her breath as she leaves the room to go upstairs.

There is a knock on the door. Joyce answers it with a smile and finds Warren and Giles standing there. "We need to talk," says the librarian. He notices the children and continues, "Alone." Joyce nods and steps outside, closing the door behind her.

"What is it?" she asks quietly.

Giles says slowly, "Warren brought up an interesting dilemma about the trainees."

The dark haired teenager inquires, "How long does it take on average to train a ninja in Konoha these days?"

"About four years," Joyce answers. "Why do you ask?"

Giles says plainly, "We don't have four years to get these people field ready if more curse sealed creatures show up or anyone stronger than the average Slayer."

Joyce frowns and puts her hands on her hips. "You're right. Since you two are coming to me with this, I assume you have plans to counter this little dilemma?"

Warren grins, "I thought you'd never ask! The first obvious thing is to streamline the teaching classes to only include the necessities."

"Obviously," Joyce replies.

Warren glares at her, "That's why I said that it was the first obvious thing. Continuing on, the second thing is, though you may dislike it somewhat, as you know, the training is to build up their chakra levels and control along with getting them into peek physical conditions. Giles?"

The librarian nods and hands her a file. He says, "I believe that we can get the physical training done in about a year if we focus on it diligently, along with the necessary ninja skills."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Joyce responds warily.

Warren replies, "That isn't the bad part we were worried about mentioning. The problem comes in with the chakra training. There is no plausible way to cut down on the time it takes for that, unless we come across a genius or two with impressive chakra reserves already in place. At the most, we might be able to shave a year off the chakra training."

Joyce folds her arms over her chest and stares at them. "At the moment, I count two people with immense chakra reserves who are self proclaimed geniuses. What's the problem?"

They exchange glances. "Well, I believe I could jumpstart their chakra," Warren says hesitantly.

"There will be no curse seals," Joyce states in a dangerous tone.

He waves his hands in front of him quickly. "Oh, of course not! I think I've come up with a way to jumpstart it without those. Remember on Halloween, what Orochimaru did with all of those vampires and demons that you fought?"

"I do," Joyce confirms. She glances at Giles, "You already looked over his research?"

Giles nods slowly, "It has merit."

Warren inserts, "The difference will be that it's on living humans and not the undead or demons. We'll have to do it a bit slower than he did on them. Plus, I'm not sure what the long term side effects will be on a human if we did it all at once. For all we know, it could kill them or horribly mutate them. There is always the slim possibility that it would fade over time though if done quickly. Plus I wouldn't be downloading ninja stuff into their brain, which I don't think their brain would be able to handle. I honestly don't think those 'helpers' of Orochimaru would have had functional brains for very long after words if they had survived." Giles continues, "However, we're doing this slowly so that they'll have more time to adjust."

"That sounds like it could work," Joyce says after a long moment of thinking. "Get on it."

"Yes, ma'am," Warren says before turning to walk away. He stops when he feels himself being lifted off the ground by his shirt collar. "Something else, Tsunade?"

Joyce smiles pleasantly, "If you rush this and the test subjects turn into anything…undesirable…I will hold you responsible as the scientist."

"Understood. Can you put me down now?" Warren replies with a frown. "I know the risks and the precautions will be in place. I wouldn't have brought it up in the first place if Giles and I weren't sure that it could work."

She sets him down and states, "Now you are dismissed."

"Thank you ever so much," Warren drawls with an exaggerated bow. Before she can hit him, he disappears in a puff of smoke.

Giles smiles at her, "Things seem to be looking brighter for us now."

"That they are, for now," admits Joyce.

**Secret Location: **

"Have you found the parts?" James snaps irritably.

Several vampires come in with boxes. The one in charge says reluctantly, "Not all of them. But, we'll find them, boss!"

"Be sure you do! We must give the Slayer and her friends a good birthday present! Especially that do gooder sire of mine. Yes, he must be burned!" James rants. The other vampires glance at each other worriedly but hold their tongues. "Soon, Angel, soon! I'll get you, and that snake whore who was with you!" He lets out an evil laugh.

A vampire near the door whispers, "Is it just me, or did he just paraphrase from the Wizard of Oz?"

"Let it go, man. Just let it go while you still can," the other replies quietly, shaking his head and staring at the ground.

**Omake: **

The Sanin appear on the scrolls. Warren and Joyce instantly start flashing through hand signs. Giles shouts, "Jiraiya is here! I am a famous writer, loved by the ladies, envied by the men, and the strongest ninja ever! I am Jiraiya the Toad Sanin!" He hops on one foot while making the announcement, fully clothed to look like Jiraiya. "Oh yeah! I'm good." Warren and Joyce stare at him.

"Just attack them already!" Joyce shouts as she drops her heel on the largest of the demons, making its head pop out the wrong side of its body.

Giles scratches the back of his head, "Oh yeah. I almost forgot. Die!" He launches a mouthful of oil at them and ignites it with a lighter, catching several of the Tekara leadership on fire. "I've still got it!" he announces proudly. Meanwhile, Warren effectively neutralizes the enemies by bashing his and their heads against the concrete walls repeatedly.

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**Read and Review!**

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	11. Chapter 11

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Disclaimer: see previous chapters

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**Next Day at Dawn's School at Lunch:**

Dawn looks around the room while holding her tray of food until her eyes settle on the tables where the two potentials are sitting. She smiles and thinks, 'This makes things easier. They're sitting across from each other.' The pre-teen girl walks between their two tables and glances between the two people. She smirks and let go of her tray, making it clatter onto the floor. "Oops," she says calmly. "I guess I dropped my food. Kit, Carlos, get over here and help me clean it up please." She bends down and starts putting the food back on the trays. Carlos takes one look at Dawn and quickly starts helping, his eyes trailing over to her more than at the food. Dawn smirks and stares up at Kit who is looking over her shoulder at the two. After a brief staring contest, Kit gets up from her table and starts helping Dawn.

"Thanks, guys," Buffy's little sister says amiably. She picks up her now reloaded tray and looks from one to the other. "Hey, what are you doing two days from now? Do you two have any plans?"

"Um…as far as I know, my schedule's free," Carlos says cautiously.

Kit shrugs, "Nothing as far as I know. Why do you ask? Hey, you're Dawn right? I've seen you in class."

"Yep, that's where you saw me," Dawn confirms. "Well, some friends of mine are hosting a martial arts demonstration in two days and I was wondering if you two were interested in coming along. It shouldn't take too long."

Carlos' eyes light up at the mention of martial arts. "Sure! I'll be there. Where is it?"

Dawn replies, "In the gym around six o'clock. Can you make it?"

"I can," the boy nods.

Kit looks Dawn over slowly and thinks about it. "Well…martial arts isn't really my thing."

"Don't worry," Dawn smiles. "What's the worse that can happen? You're just watching a demonstration. Besides, I think you have a lot of potential if you put your mind to it."

"I'll think about it," Kit answers slowly. "But I'm not making any promises."

Dawn turns to walk away and says over her shoulder, "I didn't expect you to." She walks away, leaving her two classmates behind. She thinks, 'That was easy. Now for the others to do their recruiting.' She giggles when she thinks about Buffy's potential situation.

**Sunnydale High: **

Speaking of Buffy…

The ninja slayer glares across the school lawn past all the people eating their lunches on benches or around trees. Owen sits off by himself eating his lunch. Willow nudges Buffy's side and whispers, "We need to recruit him, Buffy, or at least give him a chance to join. Go over and talk to him."

"But he'll say yes," Buffy whines.

Willow smiles, "That's what we want!"

"That's what you want!" she retorts. "Not what I want! I already dumped this guy once to get rid of him. Now, you're asking me to recruit him!"

"Circumstances changed and we need to recruit him," argues Willow. "Besides, we've been over this. If you do, I'll let you have my cupcake!" She holds up her cupcake.

Buffy stares at the cupcake for a long moment. "That's chocolate with vanilla topping and sprinkles."

"Yep, your favorite!" Willow grins.

Buffy glares at the cupcake harder than she was at Owen, "You planned this."

"You betcha'!" Willow smiles. "Now, let's go over there and recruit him for the sake of the cupcake!"

Buffy lets out a frustrated groan before grabbing Willow's arm. "Fine! If you keep insisting that 'we're' going to recruit him, you're coming with me!" She yanks her arm as she stomps towards Owen.

"Not so hard or I'll squish the cupcake!" Willow exclaims excitedly. Buffy loosens her grip for the sake of her delicious cupcake but continues dragging the redhead along.

Owen hears Willow's quiet protests and looks up to see the two girls. "Oh, hi, Buffy! Hi…Buffy's friend! Long time no see! How are you two doing?"

"Well, you see," Buffy begins reluctantly. "Willow has something to tell you!" She pushes Willow in front of her quickly.

Willow stares blankly at Owen and glances down at the cupcake. "Cupcake?"

"That's mine!" Buffy snaps, grabbing for the cupcake over Willow's shoulder. Willow passes the cupcake to her right hand and rotates counterclockwise, pushing Buffy back. Buffy counters with a spin and grabs onto her hand, pulling her forward and grabbing for the cupcake. Willow throws the cupcake up in the air, Buffy's eyes following its ascent. The redheaded ninja drops into a horse riding stance. She reaches around and wraps her arm around Buffy's neck, pulling her down over her hip. Buffy pulls her down after her and lands on top, pinning her down. She glances up and reaches out, barely catching the cupcake in time. "My cupcake!" she practically growls.

"I didn't really want the cupcake all that much," Owen says slowly, still trying to figure out what just happened.

Buffy and Willow look over at him and then back at each other. "You tell him," Buffy states.

"You tell him! It's your job!" Willow protests.

Buffy quickly hops out of her reach with the cupcake and grins, "I have the cupcake. You tell him."

"I'll tell your mom," Willow warns.

Buffy scowls before smiling again, "But I still have the cupcake until then."

"Wuppty dooo, you were going to get it anyways," Willow frowns.

Buffy grins, "And now I have it, so you tell him."

"Tell me what!?" Owen says loudly.

Willow looks over at him and says, "What are you doing in two days?"

Owen thinks about it, "I'm not really sure…"

Buffy marches up to him and leans close, pointing a finger in his face. "Two days, gym, martial arts demonstration, 6 pm. Be there!" She grabs onto Willow's wrist and drags her away with a huff.

Owen stares at the two girls in confusion for a few seconds before calling after them with a wave, "I'll see you then!"

"That's what I'm afraid of," grumbles Buffy under her breath.

**At the Library: **

Xander walks into the room with a strange look on his face. Giles recognizes his chakra signature and calls from the bookcases, "Did you invite them?"

He thinks back.

**Flashback: **

Xander approaches the group nervously and says, "Hey, guys! How're you doing?" He gives them a smile. He gets nothing but cold stares in return. "Well, I was wondering if you guys were busy in two days." They continue to stare at him silently. "There's a martial arts demonstration at the gym around six that night," he continues with a smile, still receiving no response. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, reopens his eyes, and snaps with killer intent radiating around him. "You will be there!"

The group takes a few steps back and looks at their self-appointed leader Kyle. Kyle glances around at everyone and smiles nervously, "Sure! We'll be there!"

"Good," Xander grins while the killer intent dissipates. "I'll see you then!" He walks away quickly.

The group members exchange glances. One of them asks, "What just happened?" The others shrug in confusion.

**End Flashback: **

Xander replies coolly, "Yeah, they're coming." He smirks and whispers, "Oh yeah, I've still got it." He ignores the audible snort coming from the bookcases.

**Two Days Later at the Demonstration: **

The first of the recruits to arrive are Carlos and Kit. They stroll into the room and Dawn is waiting. "Oh, I'm glad you guys could make it!" she exclaims. They look around slowly and see a rack of weapons, several wooden training dummies, targets, and a few people standing around.

Carlos mentally identifies each person. 'Dawn, her sister Buffy, some high schoolers, the supervising librarian, Dawn's mom…Dawn's mom?!'he thinks. Out loud, he says, "Hey, Dawn, isn't that your mom?"

"Yeah, it is," Dawn replies coolly. "You can stop drooling now." He instinctively wipes his face with his arm and apologizes quickly while Kit smirks at how bright his face gets.

Buffy walks up to them and smiles, "Have a seat. Once everyone arrives, we'll begin." Her sister and the two friends walk past to take their seats. Her smile falters when Owen walks in the door. The smile reforms into something more sinister. "Hello, Owen. Please have a seat. We will begin soon."

"Buffy, what's really going on here?" the boy questions, dressed in casual clothes.

Buffy keeps the smile on her face, "You'll see." She turns around so her face is hidden and frowns. "Unfortunately," she mutters. Owen takes his seat. The four semi-popular high schoolers that Xander invited arrive and take their seats quietly when they notice the teacher there.

Giles walks over to Amy and whispers, "Is everything set up?"

Amy nods and responds quietly, "The genjutsu is in place. Nobody will interrupt our event here." He nods and walks in front of the seated students.

The librarian states, "Thank you for coming to our martial arts demonstration. We will demonstrate the weapons skills and hand to hand combat training that you will receive if you wish for it. Miss Chase, I leave this part to you." Cordelia nods and stands in front of the small crowd.

She glances over her shoulder at Warren who is beside the weapons stand. "Remember what I said," she murmurs. The dark haired young man nods in acknowledgement. She smiles at the crowd and announces, "This will be the weapons demonstration." Warren tosses a sheathed katana to her and she catches it smoothly. She unsheathes it and lays the sheath to the side. She sits on the ground with her head bowed and her arm outstretched with the blade facing out. Her other arm supports her with one leg folded under another. She almost looks like a samurai from her stance. She rises to her feet gracefully and begins a slow, flowing dance. Her sword slices through the air audibly as she begins to go faster, the hilt shifting in her grip and weaves back and forth through the air in a dangerous yet precise pattern. The crowd watches in awe. She brings the dance to an abrupt stop and throws the katana straight at Warren. He dodges it and catches it by the hilt. He tosses her an eight foot long chain with a heavy metal ball on one end and a blade on the other.

Cordelia steps into the incoming weapon and catches it and kicks the sheath to him which he promptly puts onto the katana before placing it back on the rack. She spins the chain as she moves and flips through the air and along the floor, wrapping the chain around her body, arms, and legs tightly. She lands with the blade in hand and the ball hanging from her other arm. The brunette launches the blade at the crowd and yanks it back at the last minute, unwrapping the chain from around her with each movement. The ball flies about her person as if intercepting any incoming attacks while the blade retreats to its owner who swings it around with deadly precision. She catches the blade and ball together in one hand with the chain in the other and tosses it to Warren while he tosses her dual two foot long sticks. She catches them and spins them around her hands in a blur. She spins in a small circle while lashing out with the sticks before putting them back into motion, adding a well placed kick here and there before she flips the sticks into her palms and launches them at her helper. Warren grabs a bo staff from the rack and stops the two sticks with it before tossing it to her and replacing the wooden sticks on the rack. She grunts, "Keep up with me!"

She catches the bo staff and immediately becomes a blur of motion once again. The wooden pole jabs on either side of her, flips over her back to be caught by the other hand and jabbed at a nearby spot in the air before spinning it in her hands to stab at another imaginary victim. She lunges to the side with the staff and brings it back so quickly that there is a snap in the air. She continues her lunges and jabs, leaving no weaknesses in her defenses for anyone or anything to get past her staff. She plants the far end of her staff on the ground and launches herself into the air. In midair, she pulls the staff back up quickly and jabs to her front, to the back, flips it over her head and slaps it out to her left and then jabs it to her right. Her feet still are a foot or two off the ground when her pole reconnects with the ground and she pushes herself higher into the air with both hands on the staff. When she is completely vertical with the gym floor with her staff still connecting with the ground, Cordelia does the splits, performs a front flip, and lands with her staff thrusting forward and stopping a few inches from Carlos' face with a yell. The air snaps around the edge of the staff, making Carlos jump. She pulls the bo staff back and tosses it to Warren who puts it back on the rack. She bows to the crowd at the waist and walks away from the center of the room to where the others are standing. She murmurs, "Well, there goes my popular image. Oh well."

Carlos sits in his seat in stunned silence. Kit shakes him. "Carlos! Carlos, are you okay?"

"That—", he begins. "Was so cool!" Kit sweat drops and then smacks him on the head.

"You idiot!" she screeches. Kit huffs and slumps back in her chair. She mumbles, "And to think I was worried about the doofus. Of course he'd enjoy almost getting smacked in the face by a crazy woman with a stick!"

Cordelia turns around to gauge her audience's responses. The general response is that of mouths hanging open. Owen raises an eyebrow and applauds. He shoots a curious look at Buffy who ignores him. He shrugs and stops applauding when he is the only one that is clapping.

Willow turns to Buffy and asks, "Do you know how many times she practiced for this?

Buffy shrugs and answers, "Actually, I think she made it up on the spur of the moment."

"What," deadpans the red-head.

Buffy smirks. "Wills, this is Tenten that we're talking about. Knowing her, that was probably just a light workout."

Willow nods understandingly, "Good point. I should have thought of that."

Giles smiles appreciatively at Cordelia for her cooperation and announces, "Next, we will demonstrate marksmanship. Xander, please take over."

Xander Harris nods and gets into a ready position. He stares at the targets on the other side of the room in front of the crowd. Xander starts running towards the targets and does a somersault. In mid somersault, it morphs into a series of three back flips. As he is finishing the final back flip, the black-haired ninja twists his body around while drawing four kunai from his weapons pouch and launches them at the targets. Each blade hits the bulls eye on the targets. "That was the throwing knives," calls out Giles. "Now, for the demonstration with throwing stars." Cordelia walks to the targets and yanks out the kunai. Xander breaks into a run for the side wall opposite of where the audience sits and takes a few steps up it before pushing off into the air. He does a back flip and pulls four shuriken from his weapons pouch while twisting his body away from the targets. When he finishes the turn, right when his eyes meets the target, he launches the throwing stars at them. Meanwhile, Cordelia starts walking towards the potentials on the same side of the room that they are on and draws four specially made senbon needles in the shapes of the letter L. When the throwing stars are airborne, she throws the needles across without taking her eyes off the audience. The crooked senbon needles fly into the holes in the center of each shuriken and snags them. The weapons impact on the center of each target on the far wall, the shuriken spinning a few times before coming to a stop. The audience looks on in surprise and start murmuring about what happened. They look closer and see the senbon needles pinning the shuriken to the targets and stare at Cordelia. She is leaning against the wall with a smirk on her face.

"Thank you, Xander and Cordelia, for that demonstration. Now we will get into hand to hand combat," the librarian informs them. Faith and Angel stroll casually to the center of the room.

Buffy whines to her Watcher, "Why wasn't I picked for the fighting?"

Giles responds, "Buffy, you're a Slayer. You don't know how to hold back. Neither does Temari."

"And those two do?" she protests.

Her mother smirks as she says, "Technically, those two are better than you in skills and rank." Buffy frowns and huffs quietly.

Angel has his hands in his pockets with his mask up over his face. Faith frowns, "You're not going to take me seriously?"

"How serious do you want me to take you?" the ex-vampire replies in a bored tone. Faith lunges forward and he barely dodges. "Hey!" He redirects her punch and counters, which she also blocks. The audience watches the two fighter's hands and legs quickly becoming blurs of motion as they dodge and attack each other. Neither can land a significant strike on the other. They weave in and out of each other's attacks, still unable to gain ground. The potentials in the crowd can barely follow their movements.

Dawn says slowly, "I think this is beginning to get a little out of hand."

Kit nods to her quickly, "Yeah, just a little."

Kyle pokes Dawn's shoulder and asks, "How long can they keep this up?"

"At this slow pace, they could be at it all day," she responds. Kyle stares at her, dumbfounded. Giles notices a gleam in Faith's eye and her hand drifts towards her weapons pouch.

"Hold!" he shouts. They freeze with Faith having her right leg forward, bending forward, her left hand blocking Angel's punch. Her hand is almost touching her pouch. Angel is frozen in place with his right leg in midair for the beginning of a round house kick and his left fist off to the side due to Faith's block. "Bow," he orders. They retract their limbs and bow politely to each other. They move back to their group.

Faith whispers, "I would've won."

"Only if you broke out of the taijutsu only rules," smirks Angel. He grunts from a sharp nudge from Faith in the ribs.

Giles approaches the crowd and smiles. "Thank you all for coming. If you are interested in learning this and much more, than please show up tomorrow to the park nearest to the high school at 8am. If you show up, clear your Saturday. We're going to be busy. You are all dismissed." The group starts to file out the doors with the exception of Owen.

Owen approaches Buffy and says bluntly, "How did you all do that? A month or two ago, you all couldn't do anything like that, even as a Slayer."

Buffy chuckles nervously, "You know Halloween and all the craziness that went on there?"

"Yeah, it was pretty weird. I have some vague memories," Owen admits.

Buffy explains, "We sort of became our costumes. It never wore off." Owen's eyes practically bulge out of his skull. "And to answer your next question, we went as ninjas."

Two poofs of smoke appear behind Buffy and Spike and Drusilla appear as the smoke fades fully clothed in their Zabuza/Haku attire, including the massive blade on Spike's back. Buffy frowns when she senses their presences and says over her shoulder, "What are you two doing here?"

"We were just checking out the potentials. I wonder how many will make it," Drusilla says absently.

Spike looks Owen up and down and grunts, "I guess he'll have to do." They both vanish in a shunshin.

Buffy sighs, "I thought I felt an extra pair of eyes."

Owen slowly turns back to Buffy and says nervously, "What kind of ninjas did you go as exactly?"

"Have you ever watched an anime called Naruto?" Buffy inquires. Owen pales. "I'll take that as a yes."

**Late that Night at the Docks: **

A group of four vampires and two demons standing guard. Two vampires are loading a crate onto a truck and are about to get into the truck. A vampire pauses and throws a kunai into a shadowy area of the docks. The kunai lands against a crate with a thump. "We know you're there. Come out," the vampire growls.

A man comes out with his hands up. "Hey, man! Don't hurt me! I'm one of you!" His skin instinctively turns into a stone-like substance.

"What're you doing here?" the other vampire growls.

The half humanized demon stammers, "I-I was just out for a walk! I live around here!"

"Get out of here and mind your own business," a demon snarls. The creature takes off into a run.

A demon snaps, "Let's hurry and get this to James before the Slayer or those ninja arrive! We don't know how long the distractions will work!" They pile into the truck and drive away.

The man that they terrorized earlier, back in his human appearance, step out from behind a stack of boxes. He walks off. A few minutes later, he arrives at one of the many Sunnydale graveyards near the fence. He walks up to the fence near a street light and leans against a brick wall connecting to the fence. The brick wall comes up three feet before outcropping slightly outside the fence. On top of that is metal fence that goes up about four feet. He has his hands in his pockets and pulls out a pack of cigarettes in his left hand. He shakes it to bring one out while his right hand reaches back near his waist and shoves a small piece of paper into a small cubbyhole that is there. He lights the cigarette, takes a few puffs, flips it onto the ground, and stomps it out. He casually kicks a rock aside as he walks away.

Thirty minutes later, a woman jogs up to the graveyard and notices the moved rock and cigarette. She begins to start stretches. She stretches out her legs and then reaches back to the brick to stretch out her arms. Her fingers capture the piece of paper and slip it into her jogging short's pocket. She jogs to a convenience store to buy a bottle of water. She hands over the money and the piece of paper at the counter. The store clerk takes the exact amount of money for the water and puts it into the register, palming the piece of paper and carefully slipping it into a small space underneath the counter ledge. He presses a hidden button next to it and waits.

Thirty minutes later, Giles shows up. "Hello, Mr. Giles. You couldn't sleep again?" the store clerk inquires in a friendly fashion.

"Afraid not," Giles replies with a smile. 'What I wouldn't give for some good sake about now,' he thinks. He shakes his head and mutters, "Stupid Jiraiya and his habits." He picks up a bag of chips and a soda. He hands the man at the counter several dollar bills. The man gives back the change with the piece of paper. Giles puts both into his wallet and walks away with a wave.

Upon arriving at his house, he steps into the building and closes the door behind him. He pulls out his wallet and removes the piece of paper. He opens it, glances over it, and murmurs, "That's interesting."

**Omake:**

Buffy pulls Willow down but looses her grip on her. Willow stumbles forward and falls face first on top of Owen. Owen's eyes go wide as their lips connect. Willow freezes up when she realizes what is going on and quickly falls backwards. "What, How, Huh!?" she gasps loudly. Owen sits up and stares at her dumbly, fairly mind blown from the kiss.

Willow's eyes glaze over and suddenly Buffy and Owen feels waves of killer intent flowing off of her. She turns around slowly and the blonde slayer could have sworn she sees a dark aura around her friend. "Buffy," she grinds out slowly. "You made me kiss Owen!" Her head whips back around and she focuses on the poor boy in front of her. "You stole my first kiss! That was supposed to be for Xander! How Dare You!!" she roars, the dark aura visibly clouding the air around her.

Oblivious to the situation, Xander walks up and puts his hand on Willow's shoulder. "Hey, Wills. What's up?" he says. He raises an eyebrow when her head very slowly and jerkily turns towards him and her eyes are full of terror.

"X-Xander! You! Him! She! Ahhh!!" she shouts before falling, having fainted.

The dark haired Scooby looks over at Buffy, "What happened to Willow?"

"That's a funny story actually," Buffy chuckles nervously, scratching the back of her head.

His eyes darken and Xander turns to tower over Owen who is still dumbstruck. "Did you hurt Willow Rosenburg, you toad?" he growls.

"H-Huh?" he says dumbly.

Xander hauls him up by the shirt and glares into his eyes, the Sharingan whirling ominously. "You will tell me exactly what you did to her. Now." Owen pales from the amount of killer intent around him.

"B-but…she…Buffy…" he gasps, having trouble breathing. He looks into Xander's eyes fearfully before realizing something. "W-What happened to your eyes?"

"Do not change the subject," Xander says in a sinisterly calm tone. "You will tell me what you did to her, or I will do things to you that will frighten you beyond your imagination."

"You'll dump me in a pool of sharks?" Owen guesses.

Xander grins mysteriously, "Not quite…"

Willow jumps up to her feet in a panic and shouts, "It's not what it looks like!" Xander turns around quickly, accidentally crashing into her with the extra weight of Owen in his hand to throw him off balance. His hand slips from Owen's shirt to his throat as he tries to grab onto something to stop his fall. He falls on top of her and she suddenly gets a sense of déjà vu. Xander gets off of her quickly.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Willow! You startled me. Are you okay?" he says quickly, his hand still not having released Owen's throat. The boy gasps for air, to which Xander is completely oblivious.

Willow's face gets as red as her hair and she says slowly, "Xander…Xander…you just…" She turns slowly around to Buffy who is staring at the group, trying not to laugh. "He just…did he..?" Buffy nods slowly. Willow's eyes roll to the back of her head and she hits the ground unconscious once more.

Xander refocuses on Owen and growls, "Enough distractions. Tell me what you did to her before I lose my patience!" Owen stares at him incredulously, still gasping for breath.

Buffy surveys the scene and mutters to herself, crossing her arms over her chest, "Where's a camera when you need one?"

**

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	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto or Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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**Next Day at the Park at 7am: **

Buffy groans while rubbing her eyes, "Mom has forgotten what beauty sleep means."

Amy sighs, "At least you don't have Orochimaru as a trainer. He had no sense of day or night or rest."

"And I was going to have a Saturday off," grumbles Larry, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt.

Joyce frowns, "Get over it! You're all ninja." She silences any answers with a glare. "We're here to address two things. One, I'm sure everyone has at least noticed the lopsidedness of the rankings in our group. We have six Jonin level ninja or higher, one Special Jonin, three Chunin, and ten Genin. Due to field experience to living in Sunnydale for any length of time and the need for more Chunin, I believe it is time for several of you to be promoted. I will also be taking into account from what I read about from the Chunin Exams. Before I name names, I would like you to know that you Genin are all worthy of being Chunin in my book, either now or in the near future. However, I can only give out so many promotions at once." Buffy sneezes and it sounds suspiciously like she is calling her mother a liar, but Joyce ignores it. "After talking with the other Jonin and those of higher ranks, we have settled on these names: Xander, Buffy, Oz, and Jonathan. You are hereby promoted to the rank of Chunin. Kendra is being promoted to Special Jonin from Chunin. Congratulations on your promotions."

Andrew calls out, "Hey! What about me? I'm too awesome not to be Chunin!"

He falls over when Willow whacks him hard on the head. "You idiot! This is why you're not a Chunin!"

Harmony rolls her eyes and mutters under her breath, "That goes both ways."

"What did you say?" Willow snaps.

"Oh, nothing," Harmony smiles innocently.

Joyce continues, "Onto the second order of business. We believe James is up to something big this time. Giles, please."

Giles comes to the front of the group and announces, "I've received through my spy network that James is gathering materials for something. My sources say that it's something big, but they are unsure exactly what it is as of yet. The reason why we believe it is big is because there were a lot of distractions out during patrol. Both the human ninjas and the, as Warren has so aptly dubbed them, 'Robo-ninjas'--" He rolls his eyes before continuing. "--were very busy last night, though not enough to warrant the backup team from intervening. During this time, James' minions acquired a package. I've been informed that he has been gathering similar packages over the past several weeks. Like we said before, it is probably something big. I advise that everyone keep their guard up."

"If we knew about the packages, then why didn't we stop them?" inquires Oz quietly.

Giles frowns, "If we stopped the packages, it would compromise the spy network. Besides, they are informants, not combatants. We don't have the manpower to be everywhere at once either, yet. I'm currently using my resources to get more information." Oz nods in acknowledgement.

Joyce says with a smile, "Now for the newly promoted Chunin's first assignment; you will be teaching the new recruits." Buffy sighs disappointedly and hangs her head.

She mutters, "I had a feeling she was going to do that."

Willow points out quietly, "Our instructors at the academy were mostly Chunin, even Iruka-sensei."

Xander scowls, "The only time we get promoted is when they don't want to deal with the greenhorns. Figures. You know, if Shikamaru were here, he'd say it was troublesome. But since he is not here, I'll say it for him: Troublesome!"

Harmony groans, "I was hoping to never hear that phrase again, especially not from dream boy!"

"Dream boy?" Willow raises an eyebrow.

Harmony turns bright red, "I didn't say anything! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Uh huh," Willow smirks knowingly. Harmony can just tell from the smirk that she just received some blackmail material. Inner Sakura shouts, 'Of course he's dreamy, Cha! But he's ours!'

Joyce answers, "Don't worry. One of the Jonin will be here to guide you in your teaching." She smiles pleasantly.

Oz states in a monotone voice, "I would like to point out that Giles, yourself, and Warren are not Jonin."

Completely ignoring him, Joyce says, "If they all show up, you will all take turns in teaching different aspects of being a shinobi to the recruits. Once you find out what they specialize in eventually, we can assign them to a single teacher, just like after graduating the Academy."

Willow says, "So we are basically following the same model as Konoha's academy?" Joyce nods.

Spike crosses his arms and mutters quietly, "Soft."

"Do you have something to insert, Spike?" Giles asks calmly.

Spike leans back against a tree. "The Mist Village had decent exams. I think Konoha's exams are too soft to make hardened ninjas."

Warren replies, "It's not going to be soft training. It's a cram course that compresses four years of training into a single year. Also, we don't want them to die. Trust me, they'll be run ragged."

Spike frowns and shrugs. "I'm not in charge, so it'll have to make do."

Joyce inserts, "Don't forget, Spike, you'll be helping out. Don't forget to follow the rules that we'll be laying out for training the recruits."

Drusilla frowns darkly while Spike answers, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever ya say, woman."

Tara snaps coldly, "You will address her, at the minimum, as Miss Summers."

Drusilla bites back, "Just try to make him, blondie, and I will make you eat your sword."

Joyce raises her hand and Tara's hand drops from her sword's hilt. "We don't have time for this. Tara, stand down. Spike, show me some respect. You don't want to upset me." She walks up to him and flicks the tree with two fingers. It appears as if nothing happened, until a few seconds later when large cracks appear in the tree and it falls over.

"Understood," Spike answers icily. "But if you want respect, show some. Is that all?"

Joyce slowly walks back to her original place. "Have I ever disrespected you?"

"Subordinates reflect upon their commanders. Even we Mist ninja were taught that," he states.

"I'll look into it," she replies. "As far as I know, I have not shown any favoritism, unless you enjoy being dealt with heavy handedly."

Drusilla smiles and states, "The only hand that's going near him is mine."

Dawn covers her ears with her hands and yells, "I'm scarred for life!" Andrew nods in agreement with a disgusted look on his face.

Joyce's eye twitches. "That's not what I meant."

Xander inserts, "Bad mental image there!"

Spike smirks at her twitching. "Something wrong, Lady Kage?"

"Anyways," Giles clears his throat.

Joyce glances at the librarian, "Speaking of which, the person in charge of managing the education of the new recruits for today will be Giles."

"I am?" Giles deadpans.

Joyce answers with a grin, "Yes, you are."

Giles sighs in resignation. "Very well. They should be here soon enough."

Angel smirks and Joyce says loudly, "The recruit training shifts will alternate throughout the shinobi Jonin in our group. Nobody is off the hook." The smirk transfers to Giles' face while the librarian's downcast face is transferred to Angel.

"Does this mean that everyone will be helping, including the Genin and Chunin that you didn't mention?" Angel inquires.

Joyce replies, "Everyone will be playing their roles in the training, though the Genin will be playing the smallest of the roles." Of the six remaining Genin, only one of them shouts in protest. "Save the comments until later, Andrew," Joyce says flatly.

"But this will cut into my training!" the blonde protests.

"Na-Andrew, I said quiet," she says very quietly and calmly. The killer intent is practically tangible in the air. Using more wisdom then his namesake, he shuts his mouth. Joyce glances at her watch and says, "They'll be here soon. Everyone stay here so that they can be properly introduced to all of our shinobi. That is all." The group splits into their teams to talk and Giles calls over the people who will be instructing the recruits today to map out a schedule.

Willow notices Xander rubbing his eyes. "Xander, are you okay?" she asks with concern.

He smiles and replies, "Oh, my eyes are just aching a little. It's probably from lack of sleep."

She nods understandingly. "If it keeps bothering you, let me know. I'm a medic, you know."

He thinks, '_And best friend and fangirl, but that's besides the point, I think._' Out loud, he responds, "I'll remember that." Giles calls him over, thus ending their conversation.

Giles maps out what the schedule for the day is. As he finishes, the first of the recruits start to arrive. Owen is the first to arrive, wearing camouflage pants and a black t-shirt.

"Owen, what are you wearing?" Buffy asks bluntly.

He replies quickly, "I'm ready to be trained and become a ninja!"

"Ninjas don't wear camouflage clothing," Larry remarks from beside her.

Owen frowns. "Why not? Doesn't it help blend in with surroundings?"

"He does have a point," Warren comments.

Buffy glares at the snake shinobi who quickly becomes silent. "Perhaps," Buffy admits. "But not in the middle of the park!"

Owen stares at her blankly for a few seconds before answering. "I didn't think of that."

"Of course you didn't, Mr. Soldier Boy," Larry smirks. "What did you go for at Halloween? A soldier? Nobody would be caught dead with such a stupid costume." Xander walks over to them and then gets a very strange feeling that he has in some way been insulted.

"Were you guys just talking about me?" he asks the group.

Buffy shakes her head. "Not as far as I know. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just a feeling," Xander replies uneasily.

Owen interjects, trying to get back on topic, "But shouldn't I be working out in the outfit that I'm going to be using?"

Xander raises an eyebrow and leans on Buffy's shoulder while staring at the boy. "Interesting theory, unless the people who you rescue have seen you working out and recognize you because you're wearing the same clothing," he points out. "Plus, it's going to be awhile before you go out fighting big bads and stopping the end of the world again. Get regular work out clothes."

"You guys stopped the end of the world!" Owen exclaims.

Buffy shrugs, "Just one or five times."

"I knew it!" he almost shouts.

Xander leans forward and whispers, "Inside voice. People are trying to sleep around here."

"Name one!" Owen challenges.

Xander glares at him, "Me!" The group gives him strange looks. "If I were anyone else, I would be in bed trying to sleep like every sane person should on Saturday mornings!"

Warren states, "Oh, recruit, keep your mouth shut about all this around the others. They'll find out in good time." Owen nods quickly.

Buffy interjects, "No bugging us to go out on missions or asking us out on dates either. That's a big no no!" Willow and Harmony both sneeze.

Jonathan walks up to the group and looks at him dismissively. "We got our work cut out for us."

Owen stares at him. "Did you go as a Hyuga?" he gasps.

"If that is going to excite you, you are in for a very long day," Jonathan intones. "Fate despises us this day."

"Neji!" Owen exclaims.

Buffy glares at Owen. "Quiet!"

Giles walks over to them and says, "Guys, we might have a slight problem."

"What is it?" Warren asks curiously.

Larry answers for him bluntly, "Parents."

"Why, fate, why?" Jonathan mutters under his breath.

Giles rubs his neck nervously, "I think we forgot something in our planning. Those are the parents of Kit and they want to know why they should let their daughter associate with us, most likely."

Angel seems to appear next to Giles. He puts his hand on his shoulder and does a Kakashi eye smile. "Let me talk to them." He spins on his heels and strolls over to the parents before Giles can answer. He approaches the parents and turns to Kit. "Go on over to the others. Your parents would like a word with me," he tells her politely. She nods and leaves the adults to their conversation.

"Are you the one in charge here?" Kit's father asks with a frown.

Angel replies, "I am one of the head teachers here. I will pass on any concerns you have to the others. Do you have any questions that need answering?"

"I'd rather talk to the man in charge," the father insists.

Angel sighs and says, "Trust me, anything I say will be a mirror of their answers."

Kit's mother says hesitantly, "How much is this going to cost us?"

"Honey," frowns the father.

"Not to worry," Angel smiles. "It's free. With all the incidents of gangs on PCP around Sunnydale, we teachers believed it would be a wise idea to teach martial arts to the next generation to defend themselves if the need ever arises, free of charge."

The father asks, "How often are you guys going to hold practices?"

"One hour before school, an hour after school, six hours on Saturday and Sunday, and any private tutoring if the students seem to need help in any areas," Angel says conversationally.

"What?" the mother gasps. "What are you trying to do? Start a gang of your own?"

"You have no idea," whispers Angel.

The father states firmly, "There is no way that my daughter is going to join your group if she has to spend all her time training. She's a young girl and should be enjoying life with her peers, not wasting it on the possibility of being attacked someday."

"I'm sure that I can persuade you to change your mind," Angel says as his face seems to waver and a headband appears over his left eye. He lifts the headband and they see the swirling tomes of the Sharingan.

The mother says in shock, "What on earth…"

Angel stares at them and says politely, "You think that your daughter joining us is a great opportunity that is too good to pass up. In fact, you are going to encourage your daughter to participate as much as she can. The gangs around town are extremely dangerous, and no amount of preparation is too much for your little girl." He pulls his headband down over his eye and smiles. "I'm glad we had this conversation." The illusion reappears over the headband.

Their eyes slowly unglazed over and they blink a few times. "Thank you for teaching our daughter! We leave her in your very capable hands," the father says enthusiastically while shaking his hand.

"We do our best," Angel answers cheerfully. He walks back to the group with a wide smirk.

Kit says, "Did my parents agree to let me hang out with you guys?"

"Yes, they did. In fact, they are thrilled that you are going to be in our 'capable hands'," Angel replies. She stares at him for a long moment and then stares at her retreating parents.

"Huh?" she blurts out.

Angel shrugs innocently and answers, "They were very supportive."

"Wow! That was kind of…unexpected," Kit says slowly. Angel's smirk widens.

Carlos and the formerly hyena possessed teenagers show up a few minutes later. Carlos notices Kit is there. "Your parents let you come? They never let you do things like this," he exclaims.

Kit protests, "They let me do things!"

"You know what I mean, Kit. They're very protective of you," Carlos rolls his eyes.

Kit smiles at him and then stares suspiciously at Angel. "They had an unusually supportive attitude about this whole thing. I can't imagine why."

"They must have seen the merits of allowing their daughter to learn to defend herself," Angel replies smoothly.

"Right, that must be it," Kit replies dryly.

Angel smirks, "Of course it is. What else could it be?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Kit mumbles.

Angel leans forward and says in a secretive voice, "Maybe you'll find out someday." Her suspicious stare intensifies, with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

Joyce leads the other ninja teams to the recruits and says, "I'm glad everyone showed up that was invited. My name is Joyce Summers. You may call me Mrs. Summers or Joyce, I prefer the latter. I am the head instructor here. You will do what I say without question, or you will find out what happens to those with quick tongues." She shoots a glance at Andrew who is glaring at her. "But first, this is your last opportunity to walk away. Once you commit to this training, you will not quit. You will stay until you are completely trained and ready for whatever may come at you."

"What's the worse that could come at us?" Kyle asks with mild sarcasm.

Joyce replies mysteriously, "You'll find out if you don't walk away. Some of you know why you are here." Her eyes fall onto Owen. "Some of you know very little to nothing about why you are here," she says while glancing over Carlos and Kit. "And others, might know a little about why you are here." She stares the people recruited by Xander.

Carlos says quietly, "Man, this sounds ominous." The stifled laugh that is evident on Dawn's face doesn't help to calm him.

Joyce announces, looking over the recruits as a whole, "Those that want to learn more, stay. The rest of you, leave." After a minute of nobody leaving, she continues, "Good. To paraphrase a very famous man who may or may not exist at this point, 'you are about to take a step into a larger world.' I leave you to the man you may know as the librarian, Mr. Giles." The baffled faces of the recruits were, in Joyce's opinion, completely worth the reference.

Giles steps forward and says, "I am going to be your head instructor for the day." He gestures to Xander, Buffy, Oz, and Jonathan who are standing around him. "These will be my assistants. These four will be the law when it comes to training. What they say goes. You will not argue with them and you will show them respect. They are holding the schedules for today for each of you. Each of you will take one. We will be giving out more permanent schedules tomorrow for how the week will go."

Xander says just loud enough for the recruits to hear, "Let the tortu—training begin." A shiver runs up their spines.

**

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**Read and Review! Sorry for the Uberlong wait since the last update.**


	13. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: We own nothing.

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**30 Minutes into 6 Hour Workout: **

"Who said you could stop moving? You have twenty laps to go!" Xander shouts. He looks over the recruits who are on the ground panting heavily. He is running backwards in circles around them while yelling. "If I can do it, you can do it!"

Heidi, one of Kyle's gang, looks up at him in horror and gasps, "You've got to be kidding me!"

Xander leans over her and states, "Do I look like I'm kidding?" The recruits rise to their feet as one and stagger forward. "Faster!" Xander yells.

Oz says quietly to Giles, "Do you expect them to go the full twenty four laps?"

"No," he replies while cleaning his glasses.

"Than what are you doing?" Oz inquires with a raised eyebrow.

Giles smiles and replies, "Just seeing how far we can push them before they collapse."

"Faster! Faster!" shouts Xander from the field. "You move like old women!"

**

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Another 30 Minutes Later:

Carlos collapses to the ground. "Did I say you could rest?" Xander asks pleasantly while leaning over him.

Carlos looks up at him pitifully and whimpers, "But I've already done forty four pushups!"

"You took entirely too long for those too! You still have eighty six to go!" Xander announces. He glances around at the other recruits. "No slacking!"

"But my arms!" Carlos protests.

Xander counters, "Are still connected to your body. If this were a real combat situation, I would have killed you!"

"That would have been a mercy," mutters Kit.

Xander grins at her and says, "Who ever said you would die fast?" The recruits all gulp nervously.

**

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30 Minutes Later:

"Next, one thousand situps! If you cannot do one thousand situps, then you will do two thousand thrust kicks!" Xander commands. They all groan. Elsewhere, Angel feels a sense of déjà vu and dread while he reads his book but shrugs it off.

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An Hour Later:

Oz stares at the sweaty and barely standing recruits impassively. They throw shuriken at the targets. The Sand Chunin steps forward and corrects Kyle's grip. "Throw like that. Try again." Kyle throws again and hits the target. "Continue," Oz says.

He examines the students. Oz steps in and corrects the angle of Owen's arm. "Try it with your arm like this," he explains. Owen nods and throws the shuriken, striking dead center in the forehead of the training dummy.

"Thanks for the tip, Oz," the young man says gratefully.

Oz smirks mysteriously, "You'll need all the help you can get." He takes a few steps back to observe the other students. Owen frowns in concentration and grips another throwing star tightly before relaxing it more and launching it into the dummy.

**

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45 Minutes Later:

Oz states in a monotone voice with his arms crossed over his chest, "The throwing star and throwing knife are completely different in throwing styles." He pushes each of them into a workable stance and demonstrates how to throw a kunai. "Continue in my example." The red haired young man watches each of them carefully.

**

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45 Minutes Later:

Jonathan announces, "Now we will be participating in chakra building exercises."

Carlos scratches his head and wonders out loud, "Where have I heard that before?" Each recruit stares at the leaf in their hands blankly.

The white eyed young man holds up his leaf and focuses his chakra to his palm, causing the leaf to hover. He says conversationally, "I do not expect anyone to get this within the next few weeks. However, once you get it, it will be helpful. Focus on your palms and force as much…energy that you can. Try to make the leaf hover. Keep working on that until I say to stop."

**

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An Hour Later:

Giles looks over the exhausted recruits and smiles knowingly. "Now for taijutsu training! This will be hand to hand combat training. The first thing to learn is kicking and punching. I watched your work earlier and it was pathetic." The Jonin and Chunin wander through the ranks. "Yell with each punch and kick. Get into your stances and begin." The shinobi correct their stances and they punch and fight as if their lives depended on it.

**

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One Hour Later:

All seven candidates are on their hands and knees, dry heaving onto the ground and panting very heavily. Giles smiles approvingly and announces, much to their relief, "Not bad." Unfortunately for them, he continues, "I look forward to see how you fare tomorrow. You are dismissed for today. Trainers, please make sure that the trainees get home safely. They are in no condition to fend for themselves." He hands out their schedules to each of the Chunin to be delivered to the recruits. "Here are the schedules for the training times from week to week. If there are any changes, we'll call you."

Xander picks up Kit and Carlos under each arm and walks down the street. The other trainers each grab somebody. Kit pants, "Xander Harris, I used to think you were cute."

The dark haired boy grins roguishly, "Is that so? What do you think now?"

"That you are a demon!" she screams in a hoarse voice.

He shrugs and replies flippantly, "You win some and lose some." He drops each of them off on their doorsteps with praise of their hard work.

Kit drags herself onto the couch and thinks wearily, '_I wonder if they'll notice if I don't show up tomorrow._'

"Kit, how was your workout today?" asks her mother as she enters the room.

Kit answers carefully, "It wasn't quite what I expected."

"We've prepared a hot bath for you, dear. You should go upstairs and soak in the tub for a few hours and just relax," her mother says soothingly. "After all, you'll need to be fresh for tomorrow's training."

"How do you know about that?" she asks flatly. "Was it Harris?"

"No, it was that nice instructor Mr. Angel. He called us to let us know about the schedule for this week for you. You're making us so proud," her mother says happily.

Kit sighs and thinks, '_They are all demons who are out to get me. I must get away._'

"Don't look so down, Kit," the father says, entering the room from the kitchen. "We'll drive you there so you aren't late. There is nothing to worry about!" She stares at both of her parents dumbly.

After a long moment, she asks, "Who are you and what have you done with my parents?"

"What do you mean, honey?" her father inquires in confusion. "We're just being supportive of your activities. Is that so bad?"

Kit thinks, '_It is unescapable. It is my destiny._' Out loud she smiles a little and says, "I'd better go upstairs to soak then." She leaves the room and lets out a loud sigh once she enters the bathroom. "They've lost it! They've gone insane! Brainwashed! Something! I've got to get to the bottom of this!" She looks longingly at the steamy bubbly tub. "After the bath."

**

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Fifteen Minutes Later at the Summer's House:

Giles knocks on the door and Joyce answers it. "Hello, Mr. Giles. How did the training go? Please come in." She steps aside and opens the screen door to allow him entrance.

He smiles and walks into the house. "Thank you, Mrs. Summers. The training went fairly well. I think we have pushed them to their limits. They have a lot of potential."

"Do you think that they can survive the training?" Joyce inquires, sitting down at the kitchen table. Giles sits across from her after taking off his shoes near the door.

The librarian slides a report across the table to her. "They'll survive. Covered in bruises and cuts, they will survive one way or another. Surviving in Sunnydale is very trying in and of itself."

"We'll just have to wait and see then," Joyce replies with a smile. "Do you have the schedule written out?" He gestures to the report. She opens it up and examines the schedule next to the regular papers. "This should work out well. I have patrol tonight with Harmony and Willow."

Giles nods in acknowledgement. "Miss Calendar and her team have set up their things at the library for tonight. Do you think that the recruits will do well?"

"According to what I saw and these reports, there should be no problems. They will be ready in time for the next apocalypse, I'm sure," she responds.

Giles chuckles, "If not this apocalypse, the next one for sure." Joyce agrees silently.

There is a knock on the door. Dawn answers it and says, "Oh, hi, Faith."

"Hello, Dawn. I'm here to talk to Joyce," Faith replies. "She's expecting me." Dawn lets her into the house and goes back to her room to work on homework. Faith enters the kitchen and Giles nods to her.

Looking over to Joyce, he asks, "Who is going to be the instructor for tomorrow?"

"I'll let Tara handle them. She's been looking forward to scouting out the newcomers for potential Anbu. The schedule for each day, instructor-wise, will be set up in the next few days," Joyce answers. "I believe that's all."

Giles nods and stands from the table. "Good day. I'm off." The two women return his nod and he exits the house.

Faith sits down in Giles' seat. "You wanted to see me?" Faith inquires curiously.

"I wanted to talk to you about the promotions for today. I just want you to know that the foolish politics that existed in Konoha do not exist here. Once we seal your partial curse mark, you'll be next in line for a Jonin promotion," Joyce explains. Faith relaxes slightly, a shadow crossing her face at the mention of Konoha before she smiles.

Faith answers, "That's good to know. Has Warren figured out how to get rid of the curse mark without killing me?"

"He is pretty close to finding the answers. Even without Orochimaru's intellect influencing him, Warren is a fairly bright young man on his own," Joyce says thoughtfully. "Give it another week or two. I'll keep you updated on his progress."

"Thanks. That'll help me sleep better tonight," Faith says. A mischievous smirk appears on her lips. "Assuming of course, that I don't find something better to do to celebrate."

"Angel is offlimits, even for harassing him; and you are not authorized to terrorize your teammates beyond reason, meaning don't touch them at all," Joyce smiles pleasantly.

Faith's face mirrors that of Anko's when she gives the most innocent look she can. "I don't know what you're talking about, ma'am."

"And no tormenting Buffy about how much time you spend around her boyfriend," Joyce sighs. "No matter the age difference. I give her enough grief about that." She smiles wider at the last thought.

Faith smirks, "I won't say a word to Buffy."

"No harassing Temari and Kakashi either," Joyce states.

"Drat," she mutters under her breath. "I mean, yes, ma'am."

"Do I even have to mention what will happen if you start to bug Giles tonight?" Joyce raises an eyebrow.

Faith puts her hand on her chin and appears to be thinking hard. After a few moments, she says, "I'll find out the skill of a superpervert and then punish him for it?"

"No!" Joyce snaps. "Just behave yourself tonight and don't show up for school with a hangover either."

Faith sighs and stares at the former Hokage. "Not only does this town have no sake, which makes it extremely difficult for me to drink anything, but you are taking the fun out of everything!" Joyce opens her mouth and Faith rolls her eyes and says quickly, "And I won't use graffiti on any of the vampire nests or demon lairs. I won't jump over the street or beat up the football team. I won't…" She looks up to see Joyce giving her a strange look.

"Nothing with snakes either," Joyce adds. "What were those last things you were saying?"

"Nothing!" she answers quickly.

Joyce smiles at her. "Good. Keep it that way."

Faith stands to her feet and heads out the door. She stops just outside the door after closing it behind her and says, "What do you want, squirt?" She looks up at the overhanging roof to see Dawn standing upside down, her face about an inch from hers.

"Oh, hi," Dawn grins. "What are you planning for tonight?"

"Why do you want to know? Going to report it to the Hokage?" she asks bluntly.

Dawn shakes her head quickly and whispers in a conspiring tone, "Take me with you."

"What?" Faith deadpans.

Dawn looks down at her with puppy dog eyes. "I won't get in the way! I just want to get out of the house and have some fun! We never do anything around here and my friends are all almost scared of me because of the training and too tired to hang out with me!"

"I would, except that I don't want to find out what Manda ate for dinner last," Faith replies.

"Huh?" Dawn asks.

Faith looks up at her and states, "If I took you out anywhere, your mother not only would skin me alive, but then she would have Warren summon the chief of the Snakes to eat me!"

"Um…." Dawn look up at her feet before looking down again with another grin. "It's only bad if we get caught. You know the shadow clone thing that can take my place in bed!"

"Your mother is a Sanin, twerp," she replies. "Forget it." She walks past her down the sidewalk.

Dawn drops from the roof and calls after her, "Please! Pretty please! I'll give you dango!"

Faith keeps walking, but Dawn suddenly feels a chill go down her spine. "Dawnie," a voice says sweetly. "What are you scheming for tonight?" She turns around slowly to see her mother towering over her.

"Apparently nothing," she replies dryly. "You have annoyingly loyal ninja in your ranks."

"Go inside now before you get yourself into trouble," Joyce orders.

Dawn walks past her and murmurs, "There's nothing to do around here. Maybe I should go clear out a demon's nest or something."

"Finish your homework before you begin the bloodbath," Joyce calls over her shoulder. "And you're doing your laundry afterwards!"

"Even the fun things end up in chores!" Dawn shouts in exasperation. Joyce smirks.

**

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Saturday Night:

Joyce and her apprentices are out on patrol. Their radio goes off and Joyce answers. "Tsunade, reporting. What is it?"

"Night Sentinel #3 contacting Tsunade. Suspicious activity detected near the docks. A small boat has arrived," the voice drones. "Orders?"

"Observe and call in Night Sentinel #4 for backup. We will arrive shortly to oversee the operation. If necessary, you and Night Sentinel #4 are to capture and detail the ship's cargo if they try to leave before we arrive," Joyce commands.

The robot ninja replies, "Affirmative. NS #3, out." The communication link winks out.

Joyce turns to Willow and Harmony who were listening in. "Let's get there double time, girls," she tells them.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade," they say simultaneously. The three disappear in a blur.

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Five Minutes Later at the Docks:

The sentinels do not react when the three women appear around them. They peer down from on top of the crates to see the ship just finishing getting unloaded. Joyce examines their chakra to find the workers to be vampires with two weak demons helping them carry things. "Eight enemies and five of us, hardly seems fair," Willow smirks.

"Maybe we should fight with one hand behind our backs?" Harmony suggests.

Willow shakes her head quickly, "They might mess up your hair if you did that."

"Don't get cocky," Joyce whispers sternly. "NS 3 and 4, disable the boat and its passengers. We'll handle the workers."

"Affirmative," the robots drone.

Harmony rolls her eyes and whispers, "We've got to make their responses better."

"Take it up with Warren. Let's go!" Joyce orders. The ninja disappear from sight.

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On The Docks:

"All right, people, that's it," calls a humanoid-looking demon that has large bug-like eyes. He slaps the back of the truck. The truck does not move. He turns and cups his hands over his mouth. "Get ready to go, men!" The vampires on the boat rearrange the deck quickly with equipment and replacing the technology with fishing gear. The demon stalks to the front of the truck and yells, "Hey! I said that's…it." His large compound eyes blink while he stares at the mangled corpses of his coworkers, the scent of blood assailing his small nose. "Someone's here! Back to the boat!" he shouts. There is a glint of light and then his arm falls off. He grabs onto the bleeding stump and yells in pain. His head hits the ground with a splatter a moment later. Blurs appear around the vampires running towards the boat.

Slicing sounds followed by poofs of dust and demonic bodies collapsing to the ground limbless and headless fill the area. Only one vampire remains standing, despite being pushed back a few inches by the kunai pressing against the undead's short sword. Harmony grins and remarks, "You blocked it! Not bad. Let's see how skilled you are." She hops back with her kunai ready. Her free hand scatters shuriken at him and follows close after them. The vampire frowns in concentration and deflects each of the incoming blades. He jumps back and dodges her kunai's slice. They run at each other and jump into the air, clashing again. They separate again and land. Harmony smirks and the vampire turns into a pile of ash. "Apparently not skilled enough. Too bad," she finishes.

The vampires on the boat stare down at the docks to see three sets of cold eyes gazing back at them. "It's them!" a vampire woman screams while running down the stairs of the boat to the hold. She pauses on the railway when she feels a sharp pain in her neck. Her scream is heard along with a loud poof. A giant shuriken sticks out of the wall at the level of her throat. Two vampire men dressed in what they would consider cool clothing, though it was probably cool in the eighties, rush to the stairway, only to be faced with a masked, black-clad figure.

"Who are you?" the first vampire shouts. The figure does not respond. His hands lash out and grab onto both of their heads before they can react. They have time to grab onto his hands to try to get away when he squeezes. Blood that explodes from their skulls turns into dust before it can hit the ground.

The figure walks slowly up onto the top deck and is met by an identical being. They exchange nods and the first intones, "Lady Tsunade, this is NS #3. We have cleared the vessel. This boat is not going anywhere. Orders?"

"Good," the android hears in his earpiece. "Stand guard where you can see the truck and boat easily."

"Affirmative," Night Sentinel #3 answers. He hops away.

Tsunade continues, "NS #4, join him." Releasing the talk button, Joyce turns around to face her team. Willow is holding a large wooden box with Harmony poking it with a kunai. The truck behind them has opened crates of shuriken, ninja wire, kunai, and other ninja equipment.

"It doesn't look like much," Harmony mumbles.

"Maybe not," Joyce admits. "But, these vampires and demons shouldn't have this ninja equipment or the skills necessary to use them. Someone is supplying them with tools and information. What's in that box?"

Willow smirks, "I thought you'd never ask." She pries it open with one hand and raises an eyebrow. "Tsunade, why would they want an arm?"

"What?" Joyce inquires, stepping forward to see. Harmony looks over just as the arm leaps out of the box at Willow's throat, but Joyce catches it in midair. She frowns and pushes it back into the box, slamming it shut.

The sentinels appear next to them. "Are you alright, Lady Tsunade?" asks NS #4.

"I'm fine. Go back to your posts," Tsunade orders. Suddenly, a hand rips through the chest of NS #3. The robot is lifted off the ground and thrown into his partner. They both skid back into a pile of crates, which collapse on top of them. The team takes a step back and sees James in his second curse seal stage. "Scatter!" They leap in different directions, throwing kunai as they jump. He grabs two of the kunai and blocks the others with them. Harmony and Willow throws handfuls of shuriken at him.

Blocking all of them with ease, James grunts, "My turn." He throws up a handful of kunai and shouts, "Ninja Art: Kunai Surprise!" The kunai multiply until they fill they sky. They rain down on the girls, the darkness working to James' advantage. They block as many as they can while dodging the rest. Joyce notices James making a hand sign. She quickly looks down at the kunai to see paper bombs wrapped around them. "Hai!" he shouts.

"Up!" she shouts, jumping high into the air, followed closely by Willow. The kunai explode in rapid succession. They hear a scream and look through the smoke to see Harmony being thrown into a pile of crates by the explosions and debris.

James sneers loudly, "One down. Two to go."

The Sanin lands and starts to approach Harmony when she remembers James. She turns quickly. James is close against the redhead with his fist in her stomach. Opening his hand, he sends her flying across the docks towards her. "Stupid! Enemy first, injured second," she grunts while catching Willow. James throws a smoke bomb onto the ground, quickly creating a thick smokescreen in the darkness. A flashbang tag goes off as well, causing her to step back and rub her eyes. Blinded, she flings Willow over her shoulder and slams her fist into the ground. The shockwave from the punch sends chunks of cement flying in all directions while clearing away the smoke. As her eyes adjust, Joyce looks around, but both James and the arm box are gone.

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	14. Chapter 15

Hidden Hand Chapter 14b

Joyce looks around the battlefield to determine everyone's condition. Placing the redhead gently onto the ground, she kneels beside Willow and examines her. After finding out that she is merely unconscious and bruised, she moves over to Harmony who is lying on the ground moaning in pain. Concrete debris litters her body and burn marks are scattered across her skin. Opening each eye and looking into them, she determines that Harmony has a concussion along with the visible damage. She does hand signs and begins a healing jutsu.

"What should I do, Lady Tsunade?" a roboninja inquires.

Joyce answers, "Call the back up team in and the other sentinel bots. Whoever gets here first will provide backup until the other arrives. Once the first team arrives, take the sentinel to be repaired. We will go to the library once the second team arrives to escort us."

"By your command," the robot drones.

She stares at it for a long moment before muttering, "I've got to talk to Warren about which sci fi shows he allows to influence the programming."

Five minutes later, the backup team arrives. Kendra, Jenny, and Amy relieve the two robots which are sent back to base for repairs. "What happened?" Amy asks, looking around. "You started world war three without me? I'm hurt!"

"Not now, Amy," Joyce sighs. "I'll explain everything once we get back to the library." A few minutes later, the duo of sentinels arrive. Satisfied with her students' physical conditions, Kendra and Joyce pick them up for transportation to the library. On the way, she calls Giles on her cell phone. "Giles, meet me at the library ASAP. Call in everybody."

"Got it," is the response before they both hang up.

They reach the library without incident. Twenty minutes later, the teams come in one by one. Once everyone is seated, Angel walks in and sits down. Andrew scowls at him and announces, "Angel! You did that on purpose!"

"Did what?" Angel stares at him blankly.

"You stood outside the door until everyone was inside so that you would be the last one!"

"I don't recall," Angel states.

Andrew stands up and points at him accusingly, "You're Kakashi all over again!"

"But I am Kakashi," Angel eye smiles.

"You are worse than Kakashi!" Andrew shouts.

"Be quiet or I will go Scourge of Europe on your hide," Angel informs him in a bored tone.

Andrew's chest puffs out. "I'm not afraid of Angelus!"

"Are you afraid of Kakashi with Angelus' influence?" Angel inquires with a raised eyebrow.

"Um…" Andrew looks around at everyone who is staring at him. He glances at Willow and Xander, but no help is forthcoming. "I'll get back to you on that." He sits down.

"Now, if there are no more interruptions," Joyce glares at Angel and Andrew. Giles is sitting next to Joyce at the head of the table, flipping through a book with a controlled look of worry on his face. He stops at a page and reads it quickly before showing it to Joyce. Frowning darkly, she says, "Well, teams, we've figured out what James is doing."

"Trying to send the world into a hell dimension?" Buffy guesses.

Cordelia rolls her eyes. "That is so last year." Oz and several of the newer recruits stare at her. "What? It's true."

"Trying another Apocalypse through manipulation of governments into nuking each other from the face of the planet?" Andrew asks excitedly. Jonathan hits him over the head to shut him up, but says nothing. His glare silences him before he can even begin to complain.

"He is trying to unleash the tailed demons on this planet to make Jinchuriki to rule the world," Oz intones.

"No," Giles sweatdrops. "Now that you mention it, I'll have to tell you about something my spies had just got to me before Halloween in Konoha. But, it's in the same ballpark. He is assembling the Judge."

"You're kidding," Angel says with a frown. "He was a nasty fellow, from what I've heard."

Spike grins and heaves his sword up over his shoulders. "Sounds like fun, Poof. When do we go dice him up?"

"It won't be so easy," the librarian states firmly. "According to the ancient texts,"

"It's a dusty book. Not ancient texts," Larry groans. "It's all dusty crap."

"No!" Giles states with killer intent rolling off of him in waves. "It is an Ancient Text! Now don't interrupt me, boy!" Larry shrinks down in his seat until Giles looks away and smiles. "Now," he continues as if nothing had happened, "No weapon forged by man can kill him. The only way they were able to defeat him was by forming a large army that sustained heavy casualties. They managed somehow to cut him into pieces and send him to the four corners of the world. If he is put back together, he will be able to burn the humanity out of any being without even touching them."

Warren shrugs, "Doesn't sound too bad to me." He pulls up his sleeve to show the tattoo for the snake summoning contract. "I think that Manda would like a sacrifice worthy of his status."

"He's a big fat snake," Andrew says. "I saw him fight. He's nothing special."

Joyce ignores Andrew while Faith bashes him in the head and says, "You idiot, you know Manda better than that. He would want anywhere from a hundred to a thousand human sacrifices!"

"So let's stock up on vampire accomplices," Warren says simply.

Joyce raises an eyebrow and replies, "I doubt he'd forgive you for putting that much ash in his stomach. Though, I suppose my slug queen could melt him."

"Or we could firebomb him!" Xander suggests brightly.

"Or we could throw him into a volcano," Faith grins.

"Or push him off of the empire state building," Larry inserts.

Giles sweatdrops and says, "Why do I have a feeling that 'no weapons forged by man' is going to be completely overlooked in this group?"

"Because we don't need weapons," grins Xander. "We are weapons!"

"And they said forged," Kendra smirks. "We merely cannot use kunai, shuriken, or swords. He probably also has tough skin. That is nothing for us. Nibi could eat him."

"So could Kyuubi!" Andrew shouts defensively.

Oz's sand swishes violently. "Shukaku would appreciate a good meal."

The librarian leans on the table and states in a commanding tone, "No. Tailed. Beasts!"

"Summoned animals then?" Angel suggests.

"We can summon dogs, snakes, slugs, weasels, toads, and Doki," Amy answers. "Doki have no humanity to burn, so they would easily get rid of your little problem."

Joyce leans over to Giles and whispers, "So much for big problem."

"Yeah, I thought they would be slightly more anxious about such a creature," Giles admits. "I sometimes forget exactly who we are now. I suppose we should thank Ethan if I ever find him again." He looks at the group. "However, we need something that will kill the Judge quickly, preferably before he is assembled, without causing too much property damage and endangering innocent lives."

"I still say we should use Doki," Amy responds with her chin on her hand.

Joyce nods and says, "We might use them to keep the Judge occupied."

Warren leans back in his chair with his hands behind his head. "I doubt the judge has ever faced genjutsu either. As Sanin, other than you, Giles, we have a formidable arsenal of jutsu. Or at least I do."

Dawn raises her hand and Joyce nods to her. "Mom, why don't you just punch him?" she asks.

"I would, if I didn't think there would be a chance that I'd get my humanity sucked out of me," Joyce answers.

Dawn mumbles, "Have you seen your training lately?" Willow and Ino subtly nod but try to look innocent.

"Do you think a mind destruction jutsu would work?" Harmony asks. "You all could easily guard me while I hold him still long enough to kill him."

"Too bad Shino isn't here," grumbles Larry. "He wasn't that tough, but he could still send his bugs to suck the dude dry. He was smart. Hey! Why don't we use my puppets?"

"No weapons forged by man, Larry," Faith points out again. He snaps his fingers and sighs. "Blondie's idea was decent though."

Joyce listens to their conversations before finally announcing, "I have an idea. We will use Amy's Doki to keep him distracted and casting a genjutsu on him. While I don't want you to get banged up, Harmony, do you think that you can hold him with your jutsu if the genjutsu doesn't work on him? I don't want you to push yourself too hard after getting banged up in the last battle." She nods once. "Good. Xander, guard Harmony and Amy while they work." Amy rolls her eyes when Xander smiles at her while Harmony squeals. Willow audibly growls at her with fire seemingly burning in her eyes. Harmony grins victoriously and gives her a peace sign. "Girls, enough!" Joyce orders. "You can kill each other after the Judge is taken down. Harmony, no seducing Xander."

Buffy snorts, "As if she could. Xander is into more mature, complicated, fighter-type girls."

"Like you?" Larry asks.

"Yeah, like…Larry!" She starts beating him with her fan.

Angel appears behind her. "Should I be worried about the competition? I could always remove him from the equation."

"Angel, sit. Larry, die!!" She continues the beating of the poor football player. Xander winces while he watches the beating.

He whispers to himself, "Man, I've got to start selling tickets. I wonder what he's getting beat up for."

A tick mark appears on Joyce's forehead as she watches. "BUFFY!!" she roars. The room shakes around them.

Buffy holds her fan up to hit him again and freezes in midswing. "Yes, mom?"

"Stop trying to kill our only puppeteer and sit down. NOW!!" she orders. Buffy whaps him one more time and sits down while grinning like the cat that just got the cream. "Now, no more interruptions!" She turns and glares at Andrew. A shadow clone looks up at her, holding a water balloon over Spike's head. He disappears and Drusilla catches it before it can reach her beloved's head.

She states coldly, "Oh, Naruto, you forgot this." She throws it at his head. He turns around to look at her and gets walloped in the face by the rubber-covered ice ball.

He groans on the floor, "What did I do this time?" The memory comes to him. "Stupid clone! I said to prank Kendra, not Spike!" He almost swears that he can hear a voice in the back of his head saying, "I couldn't resist!" He shakes his head and sits down in his seat, rubbing his sore head.

"And this group apparently has no concept of the term 'no more interruptions," Joyce sighs. "Anyways, the only way that I can think of finishing him quickly is by summoning a few slugs to melt him with their acid. Buffy, your weasels do good work, but the last time that you summoned them, they leveled a forest."

Buffy blushes slightly at the memory and grins, "But we won't run out of paper or firewood for awhile!"

Dawn sighs, "She completely missed the point on purpose. Such is life."

Joyce says, "The rest of you will divide into two teams. One team will deal with crowd control if we're in a public area, and the rest will deal with the minions. If there are no distractions, then both teams will eliminate James and the minions."

Angel responds, "James is mine."

"And mine!" chimes in Faith cheerfully. Buffy glares at Faith murderously, while the dark haired young woman smirks back with a wink. Angel stares into his book studiously, feeling the very familiar killer intent directed his way. He pauses, then looks at the title of the book: Something Evil This Way Comes.

"Figures," he mutters.

"Actually, Buffy, you go with those two," Joyce says. "He won't get away with all three of you on his trail."

"Unless of course they got distracted by Faith and Buffy killing each other and Angel taking the survivor to be his lawfully wedded bride for the rest of his short lived life," Dawn explains with a wide smile on her face. "Win win situation." She appears to think for a moment before adding, "Too bad Carlos and Kit can't see this. This is better than television!"

"Nobody would make a show portraying a Vampire Slayer and her friends," Kendra sighs. "Who would watch it?"

"You might be surprised," Drusilla replies with an odd smirk.

Oz inquires flatly, "Where is the Judge?"

"The first good question tonight!" Joyce exclaims. She looks down at Giles for an answer.

He says slowly, "Unfortunately, I don't know yet. My spy network is not as efficient as it was in my other life. It still has a few holes in it, but it will be perfected by the next Big Bad. It takes time to build things like this."

"Most of your informants are women, aren't they, Pervy Sage?" accuses Andrew.

"Andrew," Giles says while closing his eyes and mentally counting to three. "Shut up before I do something that I will never regret, but you probably will." Everyone stares at him expectantly. "The answer should be obvious. It's a No!"

Andrew crosses his arms and smirks, "Sure it is."

Jenny says, "If we don't know where he is, how long do you estimate that it will take to reconstruct the Judge and where will they most likely strike first?"

Xander, Willow, and Buffy exchange glances and say simultaneously, "The Bronze."

Joyce nods and says, "Perhaps. But they would go after the biggest possible target. The Bronze is probably the secondary objective."

Harmony gasps, "They wouldn't dare!!"

"Dare do what?" Xander asks.

Harmony stares at him with fire in her eyes. "They had better not target My Mall!"

Joyce blinks a few times. "Good guess." Everyone sweatdrops when Harmony breaks down into incoherent babbling about what will happen to the poor unfortunate demons who step one foot into 'her mall'. Willow pats her on the back sympathetically.

"You're pathetic," Willow says quietly while patting her.

Oz says, "We have the most probably targets. All we need now is the time."

Drusilla slumps over in her seat and holds her head with both hands with her teeth clenched. Spike grabs onto her shoulder to keep her upright and sighs. "People, we have a vision!"

"How do you know?" Buffy asks quickly.

"When you are with a woman for over a century, you figure out a few things about her," he replies. "Dru, what is it?"

"People…wither in pain. They burn with hellfire's light. A man in blue will stand on their bones."

"A smurf?" Xander queries.

Giles intones, "Xander, she's talking about the Judge."

"Oh, why didn't she just say that?" Xander tilts his head curiously.

Drusilla holds her head and growls at Xander. Buffy approaches her and asks, "Where? Where do you see the people?"

"Too bright!" Drusilla mutters before leaning against Spike unconscious.

Spike rubs her back and looks at everyone. "She'll need to rest for a little while. But, it'll probably be at the mall. That's where I would do it if I were constructing the Judge."

"Yeah, the Bronze is dark," Cordelia says thoughtfully. "It would have to be the mall. The mall has tons of windows and lights."

"So it's probably during the day," Harmony says, finally breaking out of her trance.

"Not necessarily," Giles replies. "It's possible that there is a place we overlooked. Or, it could still take place tonight or tomorrow. We don't know until we find out if James has assembled the Judge or not."

Buffy shakes her head, "No, the Bronze and the Mall are the only two places in Sunnydale where large groups of people gather. I'll lead my team to search out any abandoned buildings and sewage pipes in the area. I can keep the smell away with my smaller fans, Warren wouldn't notice it if a snake sat on him, and Larry doesn't matter."

"Excuse me?" Larry asks, offended.

She looks over at him, "You don't matter. Get over it."

Warren says, "Your team?"

Joyce exchange a look with Giles and nods in agreement. "Make sure that you have a team on standby anytime you go looking. Do not try to take on the Judge by yourself if you encounter him."

"Don't worry, I wouldn't do anything too stupid," Buffy replies.

"Anyone with jobs assigned to taking down the Judge will stay here. Tara, Angel, Faith, you three are on a temporary team to hunt down James and/or find the Judge before he can be assembled. Buffy's team will also be looking for any information on the Judge or pieces of the Judge, assuming that James has not gotten all of the body parts. If he has assembled the Judge completely, we have our plan. If they run into James, contact Angel's team. The rest of you can leave. Keep your communicators and emergency supplies on you. Dismissed."


	15. Chapter 115

**Disclaimer: see chapter 1**

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**Sunnydale's Warehouse District:**

"Stop flirting and continue the search," Tara snaps at her dark haired teammate while they dispatch of a few uncooperative vampires and continue to search for the Judge and James.

Faith smirks and decapitates another vampire. "Me?" she says innocently. "I don't flirt with anyone. Isn't that right, sweetcheeks?"

Angel just shakes his head and walks through the warehouse with his Sharingan flaring. "James isn't here. Let's move out." He climbs up a wall and disappears out the window.

"See? I don't flirt with anyone," Faith repeats with a sly grin. The Anbu member glares at her but quickly follows the ex-vampire's lead to the next vampire nest. Faith shrugs and follows them with a smile on her face. "If she's going to be this easy to annoy the whole time, this will be almost as much fun as teasing Angel!" Angel and Tara feel a growing sense of dread before she catches up with them.

**Summer's House:**

"What do you mean you can't find anything?" asks Joyce loudly.

The Sanin-level librarian sits across the kitchen table from her impassively. "I'm sorry, Tsunade, but my contact network isn't what it used to be. The teams haven't come up with anything either."

"Jiraiya, we have two Anbu level Jonin and a Special Jonin who was trained by a Sanin on the same team and we still can't find the little weasel that Angelus sired?"

"Like you said, he is a little weasel and hard to pin down. Give it time. We'll find him," is the confident answer.

"And your contacts have no new information for you?" she asks with a raised eyebrow. "Nothing at all?"

Giles shakes his head. "Not yet."

"Incompetent civilians," Joyce sighs and pulls out a large bottle that she gulps down. At her coworker's staring, she explains, "its apple juice. I have to drink something instead of sake." He nods and she continues, "I hope you have as much confidence as you sound like you do."

"Of course!" he replies with an encouraging smile. Checking his watch, Giles says, "I'd better get going. I'll join the search party if it makes you feel any better."

"Just for tonight," she says after a long thoughtful pause. "We still need you to help train the recruits."

"As you say," he smiles. The brunette Sanin with hints of gray in his hair stands. "And for the record, they're not all so innocent or incompetent as you might think."

"Innocent? I never said they were. They work for you, don't they?" she smirks. He chuckles and leaves without another word.

Joyce hears coming from up the stairs, "Jiraiya and Tsunade sitting in a tree….K-I-S-S-I-N—"

"Dawn!" she shouts, her fist pounding on the table and leaving a deep crack in it. The singing disappears briefly.

"G. First comes love, then comes marriage," the youngest daughter continues quieter. The loud creaking of the table snapping in half silences her.

Joyce sighs, "We're going to need another table."

**In the Evening:**

"How many spots have we hit so far today?" Larry asks while fiddling with a small puppet hand with a screwdriver.

Warren rolls his eyes. "Put your doll parts away. This will be the fifty seventh."

"After fifty seven hits, you want me to put my puppet away? And it's not a doll!" he protests loudly. "It'd a combat puppet that could someday save your life!"

Buffy inserts, "Doubtful, but put it away anyways. Shouldn't you be paying attention to your surroundings more?"

Larry stares at her and deadpans, "Nothing in fifty seven locations, and you're talking about paying attention, sister?" His stare turns into a mischievous smirk as he untwists a screw half a turn and a needle shoots out into the shadows from the fingertip of one of the puppet fingers. A vampire staggers out of the shadows, clenching his throat.

"That hurt!" the vampire gasps.

Warren appears behind him and purrs, "Information. I'm going to enjoy this." The vampire pales even more, if that is possible; though from the sheer whiteness of its skin, one would suspect that it is.

Buffy giggles excitedly. "Finally! Take your time, Orochimaru. I need some entertainment tonight."

**Five Minutes Later:**

They are sitting on a nearby rooftop. "So that was the lookout for James?" Larry inquires.

"Yeah, something like that," Warren replies in a bored tone.

Buffy pouts and whines, "Why did you have to interrogate him so fast?"

"Temari, I'm a Sanin. I took five full minutes against a below average vampire. That was slow," Warren replies.

She sighs loudly and mutters, "I know. It was still too fast." She kicks the pile of dust and grumbles. The trio strolls through the warehouse doors casually.

"I'll pick you up in a minute!" yells the vampire into his walkie talkie. "Impatience will be the death of him," he mutters under his breath. Larry smirks and twirls the look out's walkie talkie on one finger before slipping it into his back pocket. Warren smirks mischievously.

"I love these things," Larry murmurs.

The vampire hears from behind him, "Are we invited too?" He turns around just as four large swords impale each of his limbs. The thick wood and metal puppet lies on top of him with a sword sticking out of each puppet's limb, pinning him to the floor. A final blade is hovering an inch from the vampire's face, dripping with purple poison from the puppet's mouth. Buffy says slowly and sarcastically, "Ah, I'm not invited. I feel left out! Don't you know you could hurt a lady's feelings by not inviting her to your parties?" She slams her fan above the vampire's head, making him flinch, almost hitting the blade.

The undead man shouts, "Carl! Carl, help!" He looks to his left to see his fellow minion wrapped up completely by a large snake with the snake's mouth fully open but waiting for Warren's command to bite. The dark haired young man rubs his chin thoughtfully while the vampire looks terrified. His snakelike tongue slithers out of his mouth as he chuckles.

Buffy smiles cheerfully at the pinned down vampire and says, "Hello, Mr. Vamp. We're taking a survey! Would you like to participate?" A drop of poison drips from the blade and hits the ground right next to the vampire's head, leaving a small trail of smoke. He stares at her in terror. "I'll take that as a yes. First, who is your boss?"

"J-James," he whispers. "The guy's crazy!"

"Well, duh!" Buffy rolls her eyes. "But my question is where your boss is now and where is that big smurf that he is probably carrying around by now?"

The guy tied up by the snake stammers, "I-I know! They went to the mall!"

Buffy sighs and hits her forehead with her hand. "Harmony is going to be so loud this next week. I am not looking forward to it." She smiles brightly, "On the upside, we can go shopping while we blow them into smithereens! Kankuro, Orochimaru, kill them."

"Orochimaru?" one questions. The blade impales his head before he can say anything else. The skin around the blade quickly dissolves the skin around it. The vampire lets out a loud scream as the acid hits his brain and he explodes into fiery ash.

Larry smirks, "Acid, it'll kill you if you take it."

The other vampire stares at his former comrade. "No wait!" The snake bites off his head before he can continue, spitting it out before it can explode. Warren applauds when the head turns into ash in midair and crumbles onto the ground. The snake hisses and disappears in a cloud of smoke.

"I wonder why he asked us to wait," Larry comments.

Warren shrugs as he heads for the door. "He was a minion. I doubt he had anything useful to say."

Buffy shoulders her fan and replies, "I don't know. They seemed pretty helpful to me. They recognized the name Orochimaru."

"Or they just thought it was a really weird name," Larry says. "Let's go."

"Agreed. We're wasting time," Warren states. The trio leaves the building without a trace, unless you count the five holes in the floor, the two and a half piles of dust, and the small crater from where the fan hit.

**The Summer's House:**

Joyce picks up the phone. "Yes?" She listens for a moment and replies, "Got it." She hangs up and calls, "Dawn! We've got a location! They're heading to the mall! Send out the alerts!"

"I'll leave Harmony for last," the youngest daughter calls back with a laugh. "Or should I call her first?"

"Last, now call," she replies, slipping on her Sanin robe. "It's time for some fun." She cracks her knuckles and grins.

A Few Minutes Later:

Harmony hangs up the phone and growls, "They are not going to be touching my mall!" She stands to get dressed for the battle and suddenly smiles. "At least I get to show off my new outfit! Willow is going to be green with envy when Xander can't take his eyes off me." She smirks and then suddenly looks green. "I can't believe I just thought that about Xander." She hurries to get dressed.

**At Xander's Location:**

"I wonder why I feel a looming sense of dread," Xander murmurs idly to himself.

**En Route to the Mall:**

Willow hops from roof to roof and lands next to Xander. "Hey, Xander!" she exclaims. He rubs his eyes a little and smiles at her. "Are your eyes still bothering you?"

"It's nothing. I just haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately," he replies calmly.

Willow frowns suspiciously, "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine," he deadpans. "Let's get going." He hops away.

She whispers to herself, "He is just like Sasuke when he doesn't want anyone to worry." She thinks about it and squeals, "That's so sweet! Oh, he's as awesome even as Xander and Xander was already awesome so…." The voice in the back of her mind shouts, "Yeah! Get him! Make him yours, girl!" "Shut up!" she shouts at herself, blushing profusely. She rushes after Xander to find James.

**On a Rooftop near the Mall:**

The ninjas gather. Andrew inquires, "Hey, where's Angel?"

"Behind you," Angel comments with his nose in his book.

Andrew jumps and glares at him. "You're doing that on purpose! I know it!"

"Hmm, did you say something?" he asks, glancing up from his book. Cordelia shudders as memories of her former sensei ricochet around her mind.

While Andrew fumes, Harmony walks up behind Xander and pokes him on the shoulder. "Hey, Xander," she says slyly. "Want to see my new outfit?" He turns around to see her wearing a long trench coat. Willow eyes her suspiciously.

"Cool coat," he says.

She grins and slides the coat off to the ground. She strikes a pose with one hand in the air and the other on her hip. "What do you think, Xander?" (Ino's Shippuden Outfit. Look it up.)

Angel appears behind Willow to restrain her while Xander stares at the blonde dumbly. "Um…um…"

"I'll take that as a standing ovation!" Harmony proclaims, squealing like the fan girl she is.

Angel says calmly, "Xander, I think it's about time somebody gave you the talk. Meet me after the battle." He grunts quietly while Willow stomps on his foot and tries to lunge at her teammate again, but his grip on her wrists stay firm.

Andrew and Larry gawk at Harmony openly. Both of them have a little bit of drool forming on their lips. A very large club bashes them both over the head before it disappears in a cloud of smoke. Amy stands behind them with her arms crossed. "Tongue in mouths, boys." Meanwhile, Giles' hand twitches and his eyes wander to his pocket where a small notebook sits. The…reassuring…presence of Joyce standing next to his twitching hand allows him the force of will to resist writing anything down, immediately.

Xander's brain finally clicks about what talk Angel mentioned. He glares at the ex-vampire with a red face. "I don't need that talk from a pervert like you," he states coldly.

"Alright," Angel eye smiles with his mask up. "I'll let Giles talk to you about it instead. I can't think of any other man in the group who is old enough to give you that talk, so you'll have to make do." Xander's eye twitches.

Warren clears his throat with his arms crossed. "I could qualify as old enough," he reminds them. "I have the experience of Orochimaru, you know."

A look between hope and suicide crosses Xander's face before he growls, "Aren't we here to take out an overgrown smurf or something? Besides, I'm not going to have that conversation anyways!"

"We'll see," Giles smirks lecherously, only to have Joyce slap him to the ground. He staggers to his feet and says with a grin, "Alright, team! I think we're about ready to attack."

Joyce nods in agreement. "You all know what to do. Move out." They all disappear from sight.

**Inside the Mall:**

The Judge gazes over the crowd of people wandering around the room. James stands to his right while several minions are behind them and on the short semicircular staircase. The blue-skinned, horned demon places his hand on the railing and sends a brief surge of energy through it. When the energy dissipates quickly, he rumbles, "I'm ready to feed." A kunai impacts with his thick neck. He looks up to see Spike standing on the ceiling with a masked woman beside him holding clear sebon between her fingers. The massive blade on Spike's back seems to have no effect on his hanging. "Foolish mortal. No weapon forged by man can kill me!"

"Forged weapons?" Buffy calls from the middle of the room. "That is sooooo Kankuro!"

"Hey!" the boy beside her exclaims. The Judge notes with amusement that the young human has strange make up on but decides not to comment on it.

James grins maniacally, "Good! You're here! Where is that pathetic sire of mine? Did he chicken out and leave town already?"

"Right here," a voice whispers in his ear. James slashes behind him with his vampiric claws and growls. Angel jumps out of his reach unharmed and climbs up the wall and out the window.

"You can't get away from me, you coward!" the insane vampire roars, leaping up through the window after him. The minions exchange confused looks at their leader's disappearance. James reappears again. "First, Mass Slaughter! Second, Angelus! Begin!" He crosses his arms and grins. The minions stare at him blankly. "Didn't you hear me? Begin!" The minions all shrug and turn to the ninjas.

Cordelia twirls two kunai on one finger and comments idly, "Do you think he is losing it a little?"

A minion calls back, "Nah, he's always like this!"

They sweatdrop. Cordelia replies, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Joyce calls over the crowd, "Execute the plan." She turns back when she senses something off. Two dozen or more people leap out of the crowd at them, shedding their coats and hats. Their faces either turn vampiric or into other forms of demon. "He actually thought about this one," she comments idly. "That's a new one."

**Omake:**

The civilians in the mall all poof into Andrews. "Get'em, boys!" The Andrews, all clad in bright orange, charge James and the Judge. The bright orange crowd makes the Judge step back.

"Orange," he whispers. "Too much orange! The only true color is blue!" The closer they get, the weaker he appears, his skin beginning to melt as the first Andrew body slams him. "I'm melting! Melting!" James' eye twitches violently while he watches his super weapon melt into a blue puddle.

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**Read and Review!**


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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**At the Mall:**

Joyce watches the demonic creatures leap out of the crowd. "Execute Plan A!" she shouts.

Cordelia mutters while staring up at the enemies, "Where's Lee when you need him?" She reaches for the scrolls on her belt but Giles shakes his head and mouths the words: 'Too dangerous'. She nods and draws a pair of kunai and leaps towards them along with roughly half of the ninja forces.

The other half of the force start escorting the crowd out, though Andrew seems to be having the most success with his shadow clones.

Angel appears behind Joyce. She stares at the Judge and states, "You deviated from the plan, Kakashi."

"I saw an opportunity and took it," he replies solemnly.

Joyce nods, "Next time, keep me in the loop when possible. Take out the smurf."

"Understood," he says before disappearing.

Nearby, Jonathan spins between vampires and demons, stabbing their chakra points with his fingertips in passing. He dodges their attacks and counters with a few palm strikes. "The minions are getting tougher!" he calls to Oz. The orange haired demon container stands in place while his sand wraps around a demon and crushes them.

"I haven't noticed," he replies quietly. The sand lets a puddle of blood splash out before pursuing another vampire who screams like a little girl as the sand covers it.

Jonathan rolls his pale eyes and does a spin kick to a demon's head, throwing it back into the moving sand. "Well they are."

Two Andrew clones are being swung around by a vampire. "We've noticed!" They both pop when their heads are smashed together.

Oz gazes at the smoke from the clones. "I thought you were on crowd control." Another clone pops nearby.

"We can't resist!" a clone shouts. "We've got the crowd under control!" He is popped by a kick from a demon.

"Just stick with the crowds, boy," Spike growls while swinging his zanpaktou mercilessly through a fat demon. He grins as the blood showers onto his blade.

Two demons leap at Spike from behind but are instantly skewered by a hail of ice needles. Drusilla holds another handful of ice and glares at the bodies spitefully before unleashing another storm of needles into a vampire.

Meanwhile, James stares at the motionless blue-skinned demon. "What are you doing?" he roars. "Kill them!"

"Humanity has changed much since I was last whole," the Judge intones gravely.

James' face gets red. "I don't care! Kill them!" The Judge opens his mouth to answer when he is interrupted by the loud chirping of birds. The demon and vampire look up to see Angel with his Sharingan blazing. His right hand is bright with electricity.

"Chidori!" the ninja says as he drops onto the Judge, his hand aiming for the head. The large demon shifts his head at the last second and lets his shoulder be pierced. The Judge grabs onto his wrist and a bright flare of light jumps from the Judge's hand to Angel's. Angel smirks and explodes into a poof of smoke.

"Shadow clone!" shouts James, leaping away from the Judge. "That's not the real Angel!"

"If that wasn't him, where is he?" the Judge inquires, staring at his Master calmly.

A large white shape flies at James. It turns into a mat of spikes but James manages to dodge it. James takes a moment to look at it and is surprised to see that it is spiked hair. Giles pulls his hair back quickly and glares at the empowered vampire. Joyce shouts, "Xander, now!"

Amy, Xander, and Harmony jump closer to the Judge with Amy already going through hand signs. Xander lands in front of them with a kunai drawn with Harmony and Amy behind him. Amy finishes the hand signs and bites her thumb hard enough to draw blood. She hits the ground with her hand and calls out, "Summoning Jutsu!" A large cloud of smoke rises and clears to reveal the three Doki. She slides a flute out of her sleeve and begins playing a haunting tune. The Doki leap over Xander and rush at the Judge with large spiked club, clawed hands, and needle-spiked head. The Judge throws a bolt of energy at each of them to no effect.

"What sorcery is this?" he growls. "These are neither human nor earthly demons!" Amy's smile grows wider as her tune progresses faster. The Judge dodges the attacks the best he can while exchanging blows at them, but the Doki keep leaping out of range of his fists and tag teaming him. He growls louder in frustration and rips off his sleeves for more freedom of movement.

Joyce lands behind Amy and Harmony. She whispers, "Ino, freeze him." The young blonde frowns in concentration and sets her hands near each other.

"Mind Destruction Jutsu!" she states. The Judge tries to move his foot to dodge but cannot move. The club smashes hard against his side. The sound of a bone snapping is heard as the Judge grunts in pain.

Joyce orders, "Bring your summons back, Tayuya." Harmony breaks out in a sweat as the powerful demon struggles against her jutsu. The Doki leap back to their Master. Joyce slams her palm into the ground after a few hand signs and a small amount of blood is produced. Four human-sized slugs appear around the Sanin. "Melt him," she orders.

"Yes, Mistress," they mutter simultaneously. They crawl quickly and surround the blue demon. They open their mouths wide and unleash a wave of acid from all sides. The Judge roars in pain and struggles harder against the jutsu as he begins to melt.

"More acid!" Joyce orders. They nod and spurt more acid onto the demon.

James watches the destruction of his super weapon and shouts, "No!" He runs towards them.

"I don't think so, buddy!" he hears two voices say from above them. The vampire looks up to see two Andrews in their orange jumpsuits. One is spinning his hands around the first ones to create a blue sphere. "Rasengan!" they both shout. One pops out of existence and Andrew brings the sphere down on James. The vampire grabs onto the Genin's wrist and throws him into a wall.

He boasts at the prone form of the human boy, "You couldn't kill me if you had a hundred years to prepare!" James looks up to see the Judge almost completely gone in a puddle of acid. His hands shake with rage. He looks around and most of his minions are gone. He lets out an outraged shout and throws smoke bombs around him. He jumps out the window and runs.

Seconds later, Angel, Faith, and Buffy land outside of the smokey mall, and sprint after him.  
**  
Meanwhile, Back in the Mall:  
**  
The librarian approaches Joyce. "Are you sure it was wise to let Kakashi handle this?" he inquires thoughtfully. "I could have finished him here if you let me."

"Yes, I'm sure, Jiraiya," Joyce answers firmly. "He sired him and started this. He has to finish this."

"He asked to take out James?" Giles asks.

Joyce nods. "And he learned an important lesson. Never let the bad guy get away."

"Good lesson," Giles comments. "About two months two late."

"I also told him that it's his last chance to get him before its open season," Joyce states.

"Good. We can't have him getting away again. Let's finish up here," Giles replies, stepping through the smoke and grabbing a passing demon by the throat and snapping it. He tosses it aside and keeps going. "Did you honestly think that you could sneak up on a Sanin, creature? You're three thousand years too young for that to happen." He snorts derisively.

"Jiraiya! That was the last one! I wanted it!" Andrew cries out as the smoke begins to clear.

Giles thinks about it momentarily before picking up the corpse and hurling it at the impetuous youth. "There you go!" Both Andrew and the dead demon collide loudly with the wall. "Now shut up!"

"Jiraiya! Andrew! Both of you grow up! We're heading out. Now!" Joyce shouts. She disappears. The blonde boy picks the body off of him and glares at Giles angrily. The Sanin smirks and shushins away. The other ninjas disappear in like manner, taking the corpses of their foes with them for disposal. Miss Calendar hangs around afterwards briefly to pile the last of the bodies onto a small slug summon and haul them away.

**Outside:**

The trio dashes down the street after him. He ducks into an alley that leads onto a different street. They run through the alley after him and find three James' going in different directions. Buffy and Faith sprint after the ones on the left and right while Angel goes after the one down the middle over the rooftops.

Faith rushes after her target and weaves in and out after him through the alleys and over the rooftops. She gets closer and closer until she is almost within range of a kunai toss. The kunoichi jumps into the wall and dives at him, both of them landing in the alley. She lands on top of him with snakes coming from her arms and wrapping around him. "Game over," she growls, stabbing him in the forehead. To her surprise, he starts laughing before turning into a pile of mud under her.

While Faith deals with getting out of the mud pile and thinking of a decent retort when someone comments on it, Buffy is sprinting at James, throwing small tornados at him with a small pair of twin fans. He dodges each one and does a back flip over one, landing in the street. He looks at her smugly before running towards the outskirts of town. She chases him. Once they are out of the main city streets, she hops onto her large fan and uses the wind from her smaller fans to fly after the fleeing vampire. The Sand ninja rises into the sky as she gains on him. Sheathing her smaller fans, she rolls off of her fan with her hand on its handle. She shouts, "Wind Style: Wind Vortex Jutsu!" as she swings the fan down hard, pushing herself higher into the air. A slicing tunnel of wind pounds down on James from above, going in his back and out his chest. He drops to his knees and turns into small pile of mud. She growls with annoyance as she hops back on her fan to head back into town.

Meanwhile, the eldest of them, Angel chases after James. He dashes fast enough to get within range. He unleashes a shower of kunai at him which the vampire easily dodges. He deflects one or two with his own kunai and frowns when he realizes that most of them are missing. The vampire growls and skids to a halt, hitting away any more incoming kunai. "What's going on, old man?" James snarls. "You aim better then that! Is your age getting to you?"

"No, I got you just where I want you," Angel smirks. "Hai!" He forms a single hand sign. James looks around quickly and notices the scattered kunai surrounding him have small paper tags on their handles. The paper glows before exploding violently.

When the smoke clears, James is still standing with his second stage curse mark wings wrapped around his body protectively. The wings unfurl and James laughs mockingly. "Did you honestly think that could stop me?"

"Nope," Angel smirks. The sound of chirping birds is suddenly heard. James' eyes go wide at the sound and a hand comes out the middle of his chest with lighting still on the fingertips. "But this will." James coughs once and laughs before turning into a pile of mud. Angel glares at the pile of mud for a long moment before slamming his fist into a nearby tree, sending cracks into the wood.

A Mile Away:

James bursts out of the ground and looks around wildly. He sits down on the ground and laughs. "I lost'em!" He frowns at his defeat but runs away to lick his wounds anyway.

**At the School Library:**

Angel stalks into the room and Buffy and Faith hop up from their chairs. "Did you get him?" Faith asks quickly.

The former vampire scratches the back of his head and chuckles a little, "Actually…no. He got away."

Buffy pats her fan against her hand slowly. "Mud clone?"

"That's what it turned out to be," he confirms. Faith plugs her ears and the Slayer screams in frustration. "But, we'll get him next time," he finishes, cleaning out his ear with his pinky.

Joyce stares over the table at Angel and states, "Remember what I said, Kakashi. He's free game now." Angel nods solemnly and takes his seat.

Willow looks around slowly. "Hey, where's Xander?"

Angel replies, "He said that he has some things to take care of at home."

Joyce frowns, "I told everyone to be here."

"He sent his apologies and I excused him," Angel says with an eye smile.

"This had better be the exception, not the general behavior," Joyce states. Willow slumps down in her chair and focuses on the table in front of her worriedly.

**Xander's House:**

Xander lands on the rooftop and grimaces. He rubs his temples with his eyes closed for a few seconds and drops to the ground. Walking into the house, the pain around his eyes intensifies. He leans against the wall and whispers, "It's getting worse." He staggers to the bathroom and looks into the mirror while wincing in pain. His Sharingan is activated. His two tomes begin to form a third one before going back to two. "What's happening?" he mutters. His eye fades back to normal. He sighs as the pain fades and he leans against the sink. He rubs his right eye corner and feels something wet. Xander pulls his finger away and looks at the blood on his fingertip.

**Later that Night at James' New Hideout:  
**  
"Why can't I kill him?!" screams James furiously while he paces the floor. His few remaining minions exchange worried glances but keep their mouths shut. He storms back and forth across the floor and finally draws close to a minion. James grabs the minion by the front of his shirt and pulls him nose to nose with himself. "Why can't I kill him?" he whispers angrily.

"Um…maybe he's just too good, Boss," the minion answers weakly.

James' eye twitches. "Did I tell you to answer?" The minion's head disappears and reappears next to his comrades. Both the head and the body explode into dust. "He's not better then me. No, Angelus is just a weak human now."

Snake-like laughter hisses from the shadows. The minions pale but stand their ground as Orochimaru slowly walks into the light. "A weak human? If that was true, then how is it that you failed to destroy them with the Judge?" He glares at his subordinate dangerously.

James snaps, "I need more power! If you're so powerful, why don't you kill him yourself?" Both Orochimaru and James vanish. The minions look to the far wall where James is pinned by his throat by his master.

"You forget yourself, James," hisses Orochimaru. "I gave you power. You belong to me!"

James growls, "I belong to no one!" His curse mark spreads from his neck across his arms and face.

Orochimaru smiles sinisterly and murmurs, "Is that so?" His hand forms a seal and James instantly drops to the ground, writhing in agony. "Did you think that I would let my possessions go without safeguards in case they became insubordinate? Even if this safeguard was not in place, you would still have no chance against me. This is merely convenient." James growls quietly as he tries to stop shaking from the pain. Orochimaru turns on his heels and slowly strolls away. He pauses after a few steps and calls over his shoulder, "I could care less how many of the ninjas you kill. However, do not play with big toys without my permission, as you did with the Judge. If you become a bother, there is always someone who could take your place. Do we understand each other?" His hand forms into a seal again and James writhes on the floor more and lets out an audible cry of pain. "I see that we do," Orochimaru chuckles. He disappears in a poof of smoke. The minions hurry to James' side, only to be shoved back.

"If he won't give me more power, I'll find something else!" James gasps loudly. "I will kill him! I will kill them all!!" The minions stare at their master worriedly. The same thought crosses all of their minds, 'I think he's lost it.'

**The Next Day at the Summer's House:**

Joyce looks across the table at Giles. "Is Warren going to make it to this meeting or is he absent again?"

Giles rolls his eyes, "He's wrapped up in his work again."

"What is he doing this time?" Joyce inquires.

"His robot ninjas," the librarian responds flatly. "He thinks that he can make them do a few wind style jutsu."

Joyce raises an eyebrow. "First there was lighting, then fire, and now wind. He'll try earth and water next."

"Most likely," Giles agrees. "Though those will probably the most difficult to pull off. So, how was your last meeting with Ford?"

"He's improving. We have been able to stop the spread of the cancer. The trick now is to get rid of it," she explains. "Are there any side effects from the jutsu we used on the recruits?"

Giles shakes his head, "I have seen none. The recruits have not mentioned anything unusual. Even Dawn says that other then the intended increase in their chakra network, everything is fine."

"She mentioned that," Joyce replies. "I wonder if we should tell Warren of the results so far. If we let his head get any bigger, it might pop."

Giles chuckles, "Not to worry. I'll spar him sometime and teach him a lesson in humility."

Joyce smiles at him. "How is the training going?"

The librarian answers, "Angel is training Xander. Warren is helping out with that too."

"I've seen the show," Joyce states. "Should I be worried?"

"I would be more worried about residue between Angel and Xander flaring up from before The Event," Giles remarks dryly. "Dawn mentioned that her training is coming along nicely under Jonathan's guidance."

Joyce rolls her eyes. "Never underestimate the Hyuga pride, though Jonathan admits that Dawn is able to grasp things faster then Hinata could. She still has a long way to go."

"Oh, Cordelia mentioned that she wants more weapons," Giles smirks.

"More?" she deadpans. "Where does she think the weapons come from? Kunai trees?"

"She's still compiling her large weapons scroll and needs more of them," Giles answers. "Though, she is making a few of her own in her spare time."

"Oh, that thing. I wonder if she's going a little overboard with that."

Giles whispers, "I wouldn't say that around here if I were you, no matter your ninja ability."

"Is the mighty Toad Sanin afraid of a little girl?" she retorts teasingly.

He shrugs, "Not really, but I would like to be able to sleep peacefully without worrying about pointy objects ending up where they shouldn't." Giles continues, "Angel mentioned that he has an interesting idea for Xander's Pack."

"What is it?"

"Their abilities remind him of the Inuzuka clan," he says.

She thinks about it and murmurs thoughtfully, "Really? This could be useful."

"He wants to determine for certain how much of their abilities resemble that of the Inuzuka clan before he tells anyone else and raises their expectations."

She tilts her head curiously. "You're avoiding it, aren't you?"

"Avoiding what?" he inquires innocently.

"How is he doing?" she deadpans. Joyce taps the table patiently.

Giles glares at her, "I am only doing this because of your orders."

"Is that all?" she asks. He seems to be silently debating with himself. "Ah, so a little bit of Jiraiya is involved with you helping train Andrew."

"Under extreme duress!" he states.

"Irrelevant. Keep me updated on his progress. So how exactly is he doing?"

Giles mutters, "He is progressing at an acceptable rate, considering who he is."

"Would you rather have Naruto or Andrew to train, if you had the choice?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Naruto!" he exclaims. "That kid only thought about training and ramen, even if he was a little brat! Andrew never shuts up about what movies he has watched and constantly quotes from comic books like his life depends on it! If he keeps this up much longer, his life will depend on his ability to shut up during training!"

"I'll keep that in mind," she smiles innocently.

"What are you planning, Tsunade?" he stares at her suspiciously.

"Nothing yet," she smirks. "But I'm sure I'll think of something."

The librarian leans against the table. "Back to business, Warren told me that he is as ready as he can get to deal with Faith's partial curse mark. He should be able to remove it all at once without killing her, but she will be out of commission for a few days."

"Are you sure he can do it all at once?"

"I believe with almost 100% certainty that he and I can remove it without any major side effects," Giles answers.

Joyce leans on the table too. "He knows that I will be there, right?"

"That's one of the reasons he is confident that she will survive the process," Giles replies with amusement.

"That's what I thought. How are Spike and Drusilla doing? Have they been behaving themselves?" Joyce asks.

He chuckles, "Well, for the most part. They keep disappearing to Los Angeles. When I asked them about it, the answer was something about there being too many shinobi around here to have proper fun." When her eyes narrow, he continues quickly, "Don't worry. I made a contact or two in L.A. already. There are rumors that the nightlife of L.A. that everyone is quite shaken up. There seems to be new demon hunters who are leaving no trace. The killing sprees seem to be coincidentally at the same time that our two rogues take their visits."

"As long as they don't get in over their heads, I'll permit it," Joyce replies.

Giles sighs, "Hate to break it to you, Tsunade, but they would do it anyways. Though, you had better pray that they never get into that situation."

"You know how much trouble they would have to get into to get in over their heads?" Joyce deadpans. "They would have to assassinate the President of the United States in order to get that kind of trouble!"

Giles whispers, "Don't say something like that too loud! They might take it as a challenge." In a normal voice, he says, "That's my point. I try not to think about it."

"How are Oz and Kendra?" inquires Tsunade after a long moment.

Giles replies, "Oz's seal is holding. He sleeps lightly, but at least he sleeps. Kendra seems to be adjusting well to everything. She is constantly pouring over two books. It has me slightly concerned."

"Which are?"

"The Slayer Handbook and a book on the anime show/manga Naruto."

Joyce shrugs, "I don't see a problem with it. I'd be more worried about Angel's reading habits." She stares directly at Giles. "Or yours, for that matter."

Giles shifts uneasily in his chair, "Yeah, moving on. Has Jenny seemed a little distracted lately, or is it just me being paranoid?"

"She has been, and I think I might know what it is."

"Care to share with the class?" Giles asks dryly.

Joyce shakes her head. "Not yet. I want to confirm my theories before making them public knowledge."

"Would it cause us any problems?"

"A minor speed bump at the worst. A chance to have some fun at the best."

Giles smiles, "I can't wait to find out what it is."

"No Gamabunta," she states. He nods. "No toads." He frowns a little but still nods. "No fire bomb jutsus." He sighs. "And no going into Sage mode."

Giles groans exasperatedly. "You take the fun out of life!"

"Yeah, and keep our lives secret," she retorts.

He rolls his eyes, "I'm not stupid. Is that everything?"

"I'll keep an eye on my daughters and their teammates, so no need to cover that. That's all," Joyce says.

Giles nods, "Yeah, a proud mother never shuts up about how well her daughters are doing."

Joyce shrugs and says, "You know what? I'm glad that Warren didn't come this time. He would have gone on and on about his experiments. We wouldn't have been able to cover anything."

"Joyce, how long do you think it will be before the storm hits? It's been too calm lately."

"Soon, I hope. I hate lull times. I get bored," she sighs. "Sanin getting bored is always a bad thing. Even with James around, it's a minor annoyance. Nothing big yet."

Giles smirks, "It's sad when we consider the Judge a minor annoyance, but let's keep it that way."

Joyce nods and takes a gulp of her flagon of apple juice, which Miss Calendar has run extensive chemical analysis on to make sure it is apple juice. "I suppose you're right. Let's hope it stays calm around here for awhile longer. At least until the recruits are ready for something bigger."

**

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	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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**Friday Night at Angel's Mansion: **

Medical instruments and open books are strewn throughout the room. Computers sit near the books and odd-colored tubes of fluid rest against their holders on the wall. Faith lies on her back on a futon in the middle of the room with computer-controlled sensors hooked up to her along with Japanese characters drawn on bandages covering her and on her skin, all leading to the partial curse mark on her neck. Her head is turned to the right to give easier access to the seal. The written seals spread out from her body to the surrounding area to form a triangle around the bed. Oriental style writing flows along the perimeter of the triangle.

"Final Check. Is everything ready?" Joyce asks.

Warren sighs loudly, "We've checked everything five times! This is as ready as we're ever going to be."

"Can we just start this already?" Faith calls from the bed. "I'm not exactly comfortable right now."

Harmony and Willow monitor the equipment and type at the computers. "We're ready on this end," Willow informs them.

"All right then," Joyce says. "Put her under." Miss Calendar puts a breathing mask on Faith while an IV pushes her into unconsciousness. She picks up a walkie-talkie and says, "We're starting the procedure."

Xander radios back, "Understood. There's nothing to report, other then Cordelia and Kendra going on and on and on about girl talk. It's really boring."

"Just don't interrupt unnecessarily," Jenny replies. "This is a delicate operation. Make sure that your backup is on call tonight."

Xander can be heard over the radio as struggling before Kendra wrests the radio from the boy and states, "Amy, Andrew, and Jonathan are sufficiently prepared in case of emergency. Yugito, out."

"My team won't let anything near you. Relax, patrol. Zabuza out," Spike inserts from his own radio.

"Shizune, out."

The Sanin sit on the three corners and start channeling chakra. Warren says after a long moment, "Have you two noticed something?"

"Noticed what, Warren?" says Giles with annoyance clear in his voice. "You were the one going on for an hour about how we need to focus on this procedure."

Warren shrugs and keeps his hand in the focus position. "Just that the recruit…what's his name…Owen, I think, keeps giving us weird looks during training. It's almost as if he is seeing something familiar when he looks at us but can't quite place from where."

Joyce states, "He might have a passing knowledge of Naruto, but I doubt he'll connect the dots unless he sees us in full battle-garb. Now, shut up and focus!" Warren nods continues channeling chakra silently.

**5 ½ hours Later: **

Breathing heavily, Joyce releases the focusing hand seal. Sweat glistens on her forehead. She looks over at her coworkers with a relieved smile, "We're done!" Joyce lies back on the floor and stares at the ceiling. "That was exhausting." Jenny hurries to her side with a cool glass of water. The Sanin downs the water without a second glance and hands the cup back to her. Some water trickles down her cheek. "Not very lady-like today, are we, Tsunade?" Giles comments.

"You're just jealous you don't have any assistants," Joyce retorts, wiping her cheek on her sleeve.

Warren inspects Faith's neck carefully and does a scan jutsu on her. After several minutes, he announces triumphantly, "The procedure was successful. The curse seal is gone!" He grins, "I'm a genius."

Joyce sits up and glares at him, "I'd better do a scan myself just in case, since I am the _medical expert_ around here. You might have missed something." He scowls back at her.

"I am a Sanin. I don't miss things like that," Warren snaps. "Especially my own creations."

Giles says smugly, "And pop goes the ego. Go tell the teams that it worked. They're waiting on the news." Warren grumbles and heads to the radio to tell them.

Joyce glances over the medical equipment and mutters, "I'm glad we took up Faith's suggestion."

**Flashback: **

Faith's team is fighting a few vampires. Anko stands with a bored look while a vampire punches at her. She easily redirects the vampire's wrist and holds it high behind his back. His gold watch shines in the streetlights. She tilts her head curiously and pulls off his watch to examine it. "What are you doing?" the vampire shouts. "Give that back!" She pockets the watch and shakes her head. Her other hand wanders through his jacket and pockets, retrieving a wallet and a few credit cards. "That's mine!" he roars.

She says apathetically, "Mine now." She stakes him and he explodes into dust. Jonathan watches her with his Byakugan and lays into his opponent, pounding the girl vampire with strike after strike. She collapses to her knees and grasps her chest.

"What are you doing, Anko?" he inquires, turning to face her. "It looks like you just mugged the vampire."

Andrew shouts enthusiastically, "We're mugging vampires now? That's awesome! I've always wanted to do that! It's going to be like in the movies when—"

"Consider it our payment for this mission," interrupts Faith with a mischievous grin.

Jonathan tilts his head to the side and thinks about it. "Mission? Well…you have a point."

When Andrew has a confused look on his face, Faith says, "What did you go as for Halloween?"

"A ninja," the blonde says slowly.

"And what do ninjas do?"

"Missions…"

"And what do they get for missions?"

His face lights up, "Our payment! I wonder if they have any extra packs of ramen on them." Shadow clones of him tackle the vampire and pin him down while the real Andrew searches through its clothes. "I like this!" he says as he pulls out a wallet. "And this!" The clones remove the vampire's leather jacket and toss it to him. "And this!" He pulls out a pair of cool sunglasses.

Faith grins, "You're getting the picture."

Jonathan glances over his shoulder at the vampiress who is slowly trying to get to her feet. He back kicks her in the face and kneels over her unconscious form. He goes through her jacket, careful to not appear to be doing anything…questionable, and retrieves any valuables. He whispers to her, "It's nothing personal." He drives a stake into her heart and she dusts.

**The Next Morning at the Library: **

The library doors open and Giles looks up from his paperwork to greet the previous night's team, when loud music starts echoing through the room. He looks confused until Faith, Andrew, and Jonathan enter the room. Andrew has a large stereo set on his shoulder, complete with an oversized leather jacket and sunglasses on. Faith has two or three wallets sticking out of her pockets with a gold watch on her wrist, fresh lipstick on her lips. Jonathan walks in with sunglasses as well and his hair slicked back. They stop in front of him and Faith says smoothly, "Nothing unusual to report about last night. Just the normal vamps."

He stares at them for a long moment. "And…where exactly did you get all of your new…accessories?"

"Oh, we just mugged a few vampires. Then we decided we wanted more, so we robbed a vampire nest," Faith replies with a smile. "It was fun."

Jonathan inserts, "It was quite profitable."

Giles stammers, "You-you robbed the vampires?! What were you thinking? They could attack you while your guard was down! They could think of ways to kill you! You were stealing from the undead! Have you no respect!"

Faith casually leans over the desk and places her hand on his papers. "Giles," she says sweetly. "We are already pummeling and destroying the undead. I doubt stealing from them will take away from what little "respect" they have left. Besides, who would you rather pay us for our missions? You or the vampires?"

"Pay?" he inquires with a quirked eyebrow.

"We went as ninjas, Pervy Sage," Andrew states. "We used to get paid a lot for doing stuff like this! Sure beating up the bad guys is fun, but I'm not exactly getting an allowance for this kind of work."

"Risking our lives requires a salary," Jonathan intones solemnly. "It is only reasonable compensation for our efforts. If you would prefer that we no longer take the payment out of the vampires' hides, then I suggest you find deeper pockets than what you have shown us this far."

Giles leans back in his chair and looks from face to face slowly while he thinks. When none of them back down, he sighs, "I'll spread the word among the other teams, though I'd place money that Spike is already doing it."

Faith grins, "Spike, Drusilla, and I going for a mission sounds like fun in the near future."

"Mass Heist?"

"You bet!" she beams. "It'd cover expenses for anything we need, like new weapons, for months. It's not as if the Watcher's Council will pay all…20 something of us."

"Point," he admits.

**End Flashback**

The librarian sighs, "I still can't believe I didn't think of it first."

"Maybe if you ever got off your lazy backside to think, you would have," Warren smirks.

"Keep pushing, snake boy. Just say that again," Giles warns.

Jenny hands glasses of water to the other Sanin. "What are you doing, Shizune?" Joyce inquires while staring up at her.

"My job," Jenny replies. "You all worked. You all get water." The blonde Sanin grumbles and rolls her eyes. "Besides, they need to cool off." She refills their glasses before dumping it on their heads. "Now."

The boys grumble while Joyce grins triumphantly.

Giles takes off his glasses and glares at Shizune. "Getting back on track, *coughtraitorcough*, we can use this data to take care of Xander's curse seal and then perhaps Amy's." Jenny beams mischievously and walks away with the cups.

After a long moment, Warren shrugs and admits, "It has potential. This is going to be much more difficult though. Xander is already fully at the first stage and Amy is at the second."

"We know," Joyce states. "We're lucky this procedure was successful this time. Shizune, please store the data." Jenny nods quickly.

Warren says quickly, "But, I'm certain that after I analyze the data personally, I will come to a solution to deal with the other two within a week or two."

"Talk to you in two weeks then," Giles retorts. "If you rush this, and they die, I'll hold you personally responsible."

"G-man! Where's the trust?"

"Call me G-man again, and I will break a hand. The trust is the same place that it was in the forest years ago. Moving on!" Giles snaps.

Joyce rolls her eyes, "I'll be leaving now. There isn't enough room in this place for all of us and your egos. Shizune, help me up!" Jenny stares down at her with her hands on her hips. Joyce pouts, "Please?" The assistant mimics her master by rolling her eyes and helps her up.

Warren and Giles say simultaneously, "Do we get help up too?"

"Nope," Jenny smiles. "You're big boys, right?"

"I'm a big boy," Warren grins. "But I'm told that I am missing a woman's touch."

"The only person to tell you that would be your pet snakes. No," Jenny states before walking away.

**The Next Morning: **

The doorbell chimes repeatedly. "Shut up!" The chimes continue. Heavy steps are heard across the wooden floor. The door opens up to reveal Amy holding her flute like a club, shouting, "What?!"

Harmony and Willow look slightly apologetic. "You know how to do some magic, right?" Harmony asks hesitantly.

"A little, why?" Amy asks, lowering her flute.

Willow explains, "Well, you see….we would like you to cast a spell for us."

"I don't do the dark arts," Amy replies. "What kind of spell are we talking about here?"

The two exchange hesitant glances and then finally say at the same time, "A love spell." Amy raises an eyebrow.

"You two want to fall in love with each other?" She looks between the two slowly. "I guess I could, but I thought you were into Xander…unless he is into that sort of thing."

Willow blushes brightly from embarrassment while Harmony exclaims, "That's disgusting! No! I wouldn't even look at her if given the choice! There is no way I would even…no! That's…no!"

Willow glares at her. "_Actually_," she grinds out, her face still the color of her hair, "We want you to cast a spell on Xander so he'll choose his true love."

"And if it isn't either of you two?" Amy inquires, leaning against the doorframe and looking at them with amusement.

"He'll choose me," Harmony says proudly. "He's just being nice to Forehead because they've been friends since forever."

"He'll choose me because I actually care about him for who he is, not because he's a hunk!" Willow retorts evenly.

Amy looks back and forth between them. "He's a hunk, eh? He is kinda cute, I guess." The two stare at her in horror. "But, I suppose I could cast the spell for you. It's more complicated then I'm used to, but I can manage." She grins evilly. "I just want to see how this turns out. Who knows? He could just choose me." Their glares shift from each other and intensify on her.

"Then make it so that he has to choose between me and her!" Harmony screeches.

"What she said!" Willow replies.

Amy smirks, "Yeah, that's what she said." She rubs her chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, I can do this. I just need something of Xander's…" Harmony instantly holds out one of his shirts while Willow holds out one of his towels. She stares at them blankly. "That was disturbing." She takes them and gestures them inside. "Follow me, girls. Let's do something about this lover's quarrel of yours."

**

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	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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**Amy's Room: **

The young witch stirs the ingredients in a bowl while Willow and Harmony sit in a small chalk circle on the floor. The fangirls glare at each other. Amy smirks with amusement before focusing on her book. She cuts out a small piece from the shirt sleeve and towel. She begins to chant in Latin and drops the cloth into the bowl. She stirs it slowly and thinks, 'This is more complicated then I thought. I wonder if…yeah, I can still do it.' She frowns deep in concentration and chants faster and louder. The air becomes thick with magical energies. Willow and Harmony watch Amy cautiously, both of them thinking something along the lines of how to impress Xander by learning magic. A strong wind forms from the middle of the room and blows open the window as it escapes. Amy sighs, "That's it. The spell's been cast." They cheer enthusiastically and give each other high fives. "But!" the young witch warns, "There is no guarantee that the spell worked. Either it will work, backfire somehow, or take no effect. Magic tends to have a mind of its own." She says quieter, "And it was kind of tricky at the end."

Harmony glances at her watch and exclaims, "Perfect timing! It's time to go!"

"Go where?"

"To meet Xander!" Willow proclaims happily. She and Harmony jump out the open window.

Amy frowns and thinks, 'They weren't listening to a word I said. But…something doesn't feel right. I think I did everything like the book said…' She sits down, pulls her hair back behind her ear, and begins studying the book intensely.

**Sunnydale Park:**

Xander leans against the swing set and glances at his watch. His two most loyal and annoying fangirls jog up to him. "What did you call me for?" he asks them bluntly. "You usually leave dramatic notes or something when you want attention."

They exchange surprised looks. "I-I, um…, we were wondering if you wanted to go out for ice cream," Willow says with a disappointed frown.

Harmony feels the same, but tries to support her. "Yeah, it's our day off from training. I thought we could all use a break."

Xander smiles slightly, "Alright. I'm always up for some good ice cream. Chocolate, right?"

"Of course!" Willow smiles back. "I've only been your best friend since kindergarten." He chuckles and agrees. They walk to the ice cream shop with Xander between them. To prevent World War III, he lets them hang on his arms for part of the way there, the three of them not noticing a passing jogger staring at the trio longingly before running into a telephone pole.

They arrive at the ice cream parlor. They are the first customers there, thankfully avoiding the lunch rush by coming early. The dark haired ninja silently congratulates them on their well timed ice cream trip, unbeknownst to them. The girl at the counter looks up from her magazine and instantly notices the cute boy. "Oh, hi. What can I get for you today?" Her gaze shifts to the girls on his arms and suddenly feels an overwhelming sensation. Her legs get weak and her mind goes blank. Xander tilts his head curiously when she goes slack-jawed while staring very lustfully at his companions.

He snaps his fingers in front of her face. "Excuse me; I'd like a chocolate ice cream cone."

The young woman stammers, "S-sorry. It'll get that for you." She retrieves an ice cream cone and takes his money. She turns to the girls, "Can I take your…" she trails off again. Harmony mentally congratulates herself on picking out such an amazing outfit, but still thinks something is slightly odd about the look she is getting.

"Same as him," she says slowly.

Willow thinks, 'Suckup.' "I'll get a chocolate ice cream cone, too!" The girl makes both cones and hands it to them.

The girls stare at their giant cones that are nearly dwarfing the one in Xander's hand. "Um…miss, this is more than what we paid for," Willow says.

She giggles, "It's made. You can keep them. Anything else you want?" She licks her lips in a slightly disturbing manner.

Xander backs away slowly, "I think we're good. Have a good day!" He dashes for the door, nearly dragging his companions behind him.

"Come again!" she shouts after them. After a moment, she sighs mournfully, "I didn't even get their numbers."

Harris sighs and runs his hand back through his hair, "That was weird." The girls shrug as they walk down the street.

Xander is too lost in thought to notice a delivery man coming out of a local restaurant. He accidentally bumps into him. "Oh sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going."

The man stables himself, "It's alright. It happens all the…" His eyes lock on the most beautiful young women he has ever seen. "Time," he finishes. "If I may ask, what are your names?"

Xander says quickly, "I'm Xander Harris."

The man glares at him and replies sarcastically, "Thank you." He hurriedly turns to Xander's companions. "Do you two also have names, or must I make them up for you? My first guess would be Angel and Buttercup, or maybe Crystal and Belle."

"I'm Harmony, and that's Willow," the blonde smiles.

He lifts both of their hands and kisses them. "Enchanted, my dears. You may call me John. Not the most impressive name, but I assure you, I am impressive in any way you need me to be." Willow gives him a very strange look.

"Riiight," she says slowly. "Um…I think we should be going." Harmony finally notices something wrong.

"Yeah, I agree," she says quickly, pulling her hand away with Willow.

John sighs, "Already? Parting with such sweet sorrow. Perhaps we will meet again soon...perhaps around seven?"

"I've got plans," Willow states.

"I have some last minute shopping to get done," Harmony adds.

John smiles at Willow, "Perhaps another time." He turns to Harmony, "Do you require any assistance in picking out the loveliest attire for the loveliest woman in Sunnydale?"

"I'm good," Harmony deadpans.

Xander steps in front of him and makes eye contact. "Weren't you unloading a truck or something?"

"Yes, I was," he states condescendingly. "However, I have found something more productive to do with my time."

"I suggest," Xander replies coldly, "That you go back to your truck. I'm sure you have a few lovesick boxes just waiting to be opened." The back of his eyes begin to pulse as he restrains himself from activating his Sharingan. His death glare seems to do the trick.

"Very well," the man practically growls. He grins at the ladies charmingly, "I hope to see you soon." He backs away from Xander who still is glaring and goes back to his work.

Once he is out of sight, Xander says slowly, "This is getting weird!" He glances at them suspiciously, "You're not wearing some sort of new super perfume or anything, are you?"

"No," Willow states. "But, my perfume does smell pretty good if you took the time to notice."

He ignores Harmony's exuberant cheers that 'her Xander finally noticed her perfume' and ponders the situation while they continue their walk.

The dreamy gaze of the passing pedestrians is very hard to miss while they walk. As they near the park, they notice that people's stares have turned worse when a few of them start following them. Xander leads them through the park and start walking faster, their followers doing the same. They break out into a run and their pursuers do too. Xander jumps over a bush and scales a tree with the girls right behind him. They hide in the leaves as the people run pass.

"Are you sure you haven't done anything?" Xander inquires suspiciously.

Willow looks slightly guilty but Harmony spouts, "Of course not! We haven't done anything to these people!" Xander thinks about it and climbs out of the tree. They walk past the bushes. Angel and Buffy are having their light, five mile morning jog.

Xander waves, "Hey, Buffy! Hey, De—Angel." They approach him with amiable smiles, though Angel's looks a little more forced.

Buffy notices the two girls behind him. "What are you doing hiding in the bushes?"

"People started following us and we had to lose them," Xander explains. "I think they were after these two."

Angel and Buffy exchange odd glances. Angel asks, "Do you have any idea why they would be after you?" Both girls shake their heads.

Buffy rubs her chin and stares at them seriously. "This could be a problem if they find you. We need to take you into protective custody."

"That's right," Angel agrees immediately. "You need our protection."

Xander tilts his head, sensing something is slightly off. "We're ninja. We can take care of ourselves."

Angel glares at him, "We insist."

Buffy joins him in glaring. "Yes, we insist."

Xander starts backing away slowly, with his arms moving the two girls back. "I think we should go talk to Joyce about it before we do anything."

Angel and Buffy step forward with predatory looks in their eyes. "There's no time! Those people could be back any minute with reinforcements. You must come with us to somewhere safe," insists Buffy. "Don't worry. I'll let my mom know what's going on once you two are secure."

Willow looks questioningly at her companions. "Yeah, we can take care of ourselves, but there is safety in numbers. Maybe we should go with them."

Angel grins, "Yes, you should."

Harmony whispers, "There's something different about them right now. Look closer!" Xander continues moving them back slowly. Willow raises an eyebrow and stares deep into Buffy's eyes to find…a very lustful gaze back. She glances over at Angel's eye to see an identical, if not more intense, stare.

"You might have a point," she whispers, starting to get a little nervous.

Buffy smiles sweetly, "Willow, I'm your best friend. I would never do anything to hurt you. Come with us."

Angel turns his gaze to Harmony, "Now, Harmony, I'm a senior ninja. You should follow my orders. They've never led you into danger before, have they?" Xander's hand wanders into his pocket.

"I think we're good, actually," Xander states flatly. He whispers back to them, "Girls, shut your eyes."

Angel vanishes and appears behind the two girls. "I think you should come with us now." His hands rest on a specific place that they should not be resting. Both of the girls' eyes go wide and they jump towards Xander with their eyes closed.

"Xander, now!" Willow shouts frantically. It was bad enough for Angel to do it, but with the mental picture that she was getting from her Sakura persona of Kakashi doing it, it was a lot worse. Xander shut his eyes and throws flash bangs on the ground. A bright light envelops the area, blinding Angel and Buffy. When the light fades and the couple can see again, the trio is gone.

Buffy looks around frantically, "Where'd they go?!"

"I don't know," Angel frowns. "Let's split up and find them." They vanish from view.

Willow and Harmony sprint down the street, opposite of where the other couple is heading. "I think something is definitely going on here!" Harmony shouts.

Willow retorts, "Great observation, idiot!"

Xander catches up with them. "They aren't following us yet. We'd better get a move on," he calls to them. "Where can we go without those two finding us?"

"Angel and Buffy are friends with everyone and have sources all over Sunnydale!" Willow exclaims.

Harmony thinks about it briefly, her Ino side kicking in. "I hate to mention it, but Angel and Buffy avoid Faith when possible. She's living with a foster family at the moment and I believe her family is out of town for the day."

Xander rubs his eyes and sighs loudly. "Faith's it is than."  
**  
Five Minutes Later, Close to Faith's House on a Rooftop:  
**  
Ino stares down into the streets from behind a chimney. "Did we lose those two guys?"

Willow nods slowly and looks down the other side of the house. "I think so."

Xander stares at them. "I will figure out what's going on. You realize that, right?" They both exchange glances and shrug.

Harmony whispers, "But we didn't do anything to any of these people!"

"That's right," Willow agrees. "They just all…randomly want us for some weird reason."

"If by 'want', you mean that the general populace of Sunnydale wants to get into your pants, Yes, that sounds about right," Xander says suspiciously.

Harmony shudders, "Don't say it like that! I've seen some of the guys in Sunnydale, and they are not someone I would even want to touch!"

A voice says from behind them, "What are you guys doing here?" They jump and turn around to see Faith standing there with her arms crossed. "Well? I could sense you from my house."

"Don't scare us like that!" Harmony screeches.

Faith glares at her, "I will if you stop screeching." She looks at Xander, "What's going on?"

"We need a place to lie low for a little while," Xander explains.

"Why?"

Xander rubs the back of his neck as he thinks of how to phrase it. Willow bluntly states, "Everyone in Sunnydale wants to screw us."

Faith raises an eyebrow and replies, "Figuratively or literally?"

"Literally!" Harmony says loudly.

"Does that include other ninjas?"

"Yes," Xander answers with a sigh. "Buffy and Angel were after us earlier."

She smirks, "And you were running because…"

"Faith!" Willow snaps. "That is not funny!"

"No, it's hilarious," she grins. "Though," she rubs her chin thoughtfully, "I didn't know they were into experimenting like that. Maybe…"

Xander deadpans, "Not. Now. Can we stay at your place for awhile until whatever is going on ends?"

She looks around and says playfully, "Oh, it would be so much fun just to watch you three get molested by Buffy and Angel." The trio looks horrified. "Who knows? I just might get a piece of the action." They pale. "But, since I am merciful, for now, you can stay."

Xander smiles slightly, "Thanks. But, for the sake of our sanity, stop joking about stuff like that!"

"Besides, they're only after me and Willow," Harmony says with an air of superiority. "He's just our bodyguard this time."

Inner Willow shouts silently, "Our super hot bodyguard! Cha! He can guard my body anytime." Outer Willow protests, "What!" Inner Willow grins, "Oh, come on. I've seen your fantasies and dreams. You just wish that the spell worked so he'd be all over you like the others are." She blushes bright red, "Entirely besides the point!"

Xander taps her on the shoulder, "Willow, are you okay?"

Her face turns three degrees redder. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Faith smirks, knowing her well enough to guess what's going through her mind. "Well, if you're done fantasizing about your new bodyguard, I suggest we get inside before the others find you."

"I am not fantasizing about Xander!" Willow shouts with an indignant face.

Faith grins evilly, "Who said I was talking about Xander?" She redirects her gaze to Harmony.

Willow looks at her with a straight face, "You are twisted."

"But ya love me for it!" she grins. "Inside you go before your bellowing and screeching attracts unwanted attention."

She quickly jumps to her house with the others following.

**

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**

Read and Review!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

* * *

Harmony and Willow slowly walk into the house. There are pictures of snakes on the walls and a large python in an aquarium. It slithers quietly and hisses at them. Harmony jumps back slightly but Willow ignores her. Faith checks her refrigerator and glances at her unexpected guests.

"Sorry, but I didn't expect extra company." She grabs her wallet and tosses it to Xander, who catches it with ease. "I'll stay here and guard the girls. Go to the market and get some food." He barely notices a suspicious gleam in her eye. He instinctively dismisses it as Faith being Faith.

He leaves the house and slowly goes through the day in his mind on the way to the market. He met up with the two girls. They were chased. They were chased some more. The two girls have been acting kind of guilty whenever he asks if they did anything. They met Faith; Faith acted like Faith. They were invited in. They went inside. Faith immediately checked the fridge? Why would she instantly think of food? Wait a minute…he goes over the last time he saw her. The gleam in her eye. "Oh no," he breathes. The dark haired ninja halts in his tracks across the rooftops and does an about face, rushing as fast as he can back to Faith's house.

Back at Faith's house, Harmony and Willow are invited to take a seat at the kitchen table. Faith casually walks to the fridge and fishes around for some food, calling out the options as she finds them. The two girls say yay or nay to each option. So far, everything has been nay. Unbeknownst to the guests, two large boa constrictors slowly slither towards them from behind. Finally both girls can agree on leftover spaghetti. Both girls are hungry from the running around all day. When the boas start moving around the chairs, Faith lets out a low whistle. Faith's guests suddenly find themselves wrapped completely by the snakes.

"Faith! There are snakes on me!" Harmony screeches, struggling to get away and failing miserably.

Their host closes the fridge door with a mischievous grin on her face. Willow says, "Faith…these aren't following any kind of orders, right? They're just being wrappy around snakes, right? Because that would be really bad if they were following some kind of orders, because that would make me nervous and…"

"Forehead, stop babbling!" Harmony shouts. "Of course it was on purpose! Let's get out of here!"

"You first, Pig" Willow retorts angrily.

Faith giggles, "Man, you two look hot when you're angry. But, try to escape? I'm hurt. You mean you don't want my attention? I know people who would kill to get my attention." Andrew crosses her mind before she shakes the image away.

Willow and Harmony exchange a "we're screwed" look. "What's the real reason you sent Xander away?" Harmony asks very hesitantly. She is answered by an overly hungry stare. "That's what I was afraid of."

Faith stalks closer to them and pulls Willow's hair back behind her ear. "Ah, cute little cherry blossom, I can make you really bloom if you give me a chance." She winks seductively. Willow's face goes as red as her namesake.

"Um….I'm really really flattered, but I am trying to save myself for Xander!" Willow protests.

Faith grins, "He can join in if that's what you really want. But, right now, I'm feeling a little greedy." She kneels between them, running one hand through Willow's hair and the other over Ino's cheek. "Such delicious little kunoichi." The door bursts open and Xander steps in with two kunai drawn and his Sharingan blazing.

"Step away from the sex magnets," Xander states, raising his kunai to throw them.

Faith shoots a glance over her shoulder before slowly rising to her full height. She turns to face him, seductively running her hands down over her body. "Snap, you're back a lot earlier than I thought you would be. I was hoping to be finished by the time you got back, but I can always be greedy afterwards. You can join us if you want. I'm sure the girls won't mind, will you girls?" Harmony immediately starts protesting while Willow has a strangely thoughtful look on her face.

Xander hesitates as his imagination runs wild with the three hot girls offering themselves to him. "I can't believe you're actually considering it!" Harmony spouts off. "With only me, I can understand, but those two too?"

"I'm still human," Xander replies. "But, something you need to know about teenage guys. Everything turns them on. Looking at chrome turns them on! And I'm having three hot girls at my disposal….no. Not this ti…no. Simply no. Release them."

"Who's being greedy now?" Faith says indignantly as her entire stance turns very menacing. "And I was willing to share them with you. You ungrateful welp! Feel the wrath of a Special Jonin, the former apprentice of the Snake Sanin!" Xander gulps but stands his ground.

Xander thinks, "Why did I have the notion that she'd just hand them over when confronted? No idea!"

The window shatters as a figure jumps through it. Tara, clothed from head to foot in Anbu gear complete with mask, launches multiple spinning shuriken into the snakes. When they disappear in poofs of smoke, she lands between the girls, lifts them by the waist, and leaps back out the window. Xander and Faith watch in stunned silence for a moment. Finally, Faith snaps out of it. "Hey! Those are mine!" A heavy blow to the back of her head knocks her unconscious. Xander shakes his aching hand and leaps after them.

The designated bodyguard rushes along the street while watching them on nearby rooftops hopping around. He uses his Sharingan briefly to mentally plot their course. He takes into account that: 1. This is Tara, 2. This is Anbu, 3. They're headed straight for the Library? Okay, maybe this could work out for the better. But….maybe not. He thinks, '_I'd better follow them, just in case_.'

Willow and Harmony struggle briefly before Tara looks down at them. "Do you want me to drop you?" she hops at a steady but very fast pace.

Watching the alleyways and streets below them zoom past, the girls shake their heads. "Where are you taking us?" Willow asks.

"To see Lady Tsunade," she replies calmly. "She requires an audience."

Harmony's face brightens. "Maybe she can figure out what's going on!" Her happy mood is suddenly dashed when their rescuer's hand slips a little too low. "Hey! Hand!"

Tara readjusts her grip in midair and lands on the next rooftop. "Sorry. I'm not used to carrying people." She resumes her jumping. Willow notices her best friend trailing them but decides against saying anything about it. The only question plaguing her mind is why the Anbu seems oblivious to it. As they near the library, Willow lets out a high pitched squeak, sounding almost like a mouse. Tara moves her hand away from Willow's backside to firmly around her waist, "Sorry. Slipped again." Willow acknowledges it with a nod, despite her face being bright red again.

Once they reach the Library, the girls enter the front door while Xander slips in through a school window. Joyce is sitting at a table with Giles. Tara bows slightly, "I brought them as requested." Willow notices a small dark spot on Tara's lower uniform growing slightly larger, but bites her tongue.

Joyce looks up as if she's going to say something. Her eyes land on them. A second later, they are being smothered by her breasts. "How are my favorite students doing today?" she asks as she hugs them tightly to her chest. "The bots say you've been chased around a bit lately. I can't figure out why!"

Tara says in a slightly snappish tone, "Lady Joyce, they can't breathe. Please let them go." Her hand instinctively rests on her weapons pouch, a fact that Joyce does not notice, but Giles does. Joyce sighs loudly and releases the girls, who immediately start gasping for air. Once they are released, Tara's stance relaxes slightly.

Harmony takes a step back as the air returns, only to find her right arm preoccupied. Giles is speaking reciting a romantic sonnet while slowly kissing up her arm. She looks at him oddly, and tries to figure out how to react. While she's momentarily confused, Joyce back hands him into the wall. "Now then!" Willow feels an arm wrapping around her waist from behind and sniffs the air. She thinks, '_Tara's perfume?_'

She hears in her ear, "This shouldn't take long, but when Lady Joyce is done talking, want to go somewhere more private? I'm sure I can make it worth your while." Her hand slowly slides up the girl's stomach under her shirt. Willow's eyes go completely wide.

"Um…I'll think about it while she explains what's going on," she replies carefully, slowly pushing the hand back down by the wrist until it is in the safe zones again. Tara purrs in her ear and steps back. Willow gulps while colorful images flash through her mind. '_What happened to Xander trailing us?_' she thinks in near desperation. She glances over at Harmony. "Are you noticing anything odd?"

Harmony shrugs slightly while Giles is now off the wall and in front of her, writing poetry in kanji on the floor directed at her in very vivid detail. "I never knew Giles was such a poet. He even knows Japanese!" At Willow's blank stare, she finishes, "But, I guess he's acting kind of weird."

Joyce ignores all of the conversation and starts talking. "So, what's going on? As I said, the ninja bots reported unusual activity with civilians and a few ninja chasing after you."

"I don't know what happened!" Harmony spouts. "People have been trying to get in my pants since this morning." She glances at the poetry and mutters under her breath, "That's actually really romantic…" When Joyce clears her throat, she continues normally, "But I can't think of anything that would make them want us so much."

"How about you, Willow? Can you think of anything you'd like to add?" Joyce inquires with a restrained secretive smile on her face.

Inner Willow sighs, "She's trying not to laugh at us. This is so embarrassing!" Outer Willow thinks back, "I don't think that's it…" Out loud, she says, "Nothing to add."

Joyce notices Tara inching towards Willow and Giles writing Jiraiya-class poetry on the floor. She raises an amused eyebrow when she notices Harmony staring at the poetry with a slight blush on her face. The Sunnydale Hokage seems to ponder the situation while Tara's arm slides around Willow's waist again. "Alright," she finally announces. "Let's all get naked!"

Giles leaps into the air and shouts, "My dreams have come true!" Smoke bombs erupt into the room. Joyce catches the odd look of wide-eyed and jaw-dropped apprentices before the smoke covers everything.

"She said what!" Harmony screeches. She feels a hand cover her mouth.

"Don't say anything," Xander whispers. She feels him lift her Tara-style and hears the sound of a punch and Tara literally growling in reply. Willow and Harmony are hurriedly carried to the school doors and escape with Xander.

A few seconds later, Joyce shouts, "Enough!" She punches the floor and the shockwave blows the smoke away, sending spiderweb cracks throughout the tile. The Hokage looks around and notices the doors still swinging. "After them! They will be ours tonight!"

Tara grins like a chesire cat, her mask in her hand. "I'm way a head of you!" She disappears in a swirl of leaves. Giles instantly sprints after them.

He says dramatically, "Come back to me, Harmony! You are the sun of my life! The woman of my dreams! Without you, my wine loses its burn! The flowers lose their beauty! The—"

"Just shut up and get them!" Joyce shouts after him.

As they run, Harmony comments, "Did you know he was that poetic?"

"Now's not the time, Ino!" Xander replies curtly. He rounds the corner and comes face to face with Andrew. Andrew pauses and looks at the girls. Xander sets the girls down and reaches for his kunai.

Willow pushes him back and states confidently, "I got this." Looking at Andrew and smiling sweetly, she says, "Hi, cutie. You know, if you stop whoever is chasing us, Harmony and I will go on a double date with you." She winks and pushes her red hair back behind her ear. "I'm sure we can have a lot of fun. Anything you want." His eyes go blank as his brain goes into overdrive. "Can you do that for me pretty please? You'd be my hero and even better than Sasuke." Xander raises an eyebrow and frowns. He clamps his hand instinctively over Harmony's open mouth without looking before she can say anything.

Andrew comes out of the daze and hears the footsteps coming down the hall fast. He yells happily, "I will stop the entire planet if I have to! I will have my double date with the hottest girls ever! Believe it!" He rushes past them towards the incoming footsteps and shouts, "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The trio runs away from them as fast as they can as the clones create a near solid wall between them and their pursuers.

**At Amy's House: **

The young witch flips through her book slowly. She senses that magic was used, but nothing seemed to happen. After a few minutes of searching, she finally finds what she is looking for. "Spell of Magic Tracking for Misplaced Spells," she reads off. "That's a mouthful. People need to find better names for these things." She looks over the ingredients carefully. "It was supposed to affect the Uchiha. It must have landed somewhere else." She drops the ingredients into a bowl and starts grinding it with one hand. "Latin…everything is in bloody Latin. Not Greek, not Japanese, just Latin." She sighs, "I better get started." She closes her eyes and throws some of the powder into the air while she chants.

**With the Fleeing Trio: **

Willow thinks, "I think something went wrong with the spell…" Inner Willow scowls, "No kidding, Holmes! It was supposed to make Sasuke become completely in love with us!" Outer Willow blushes slightly, "Or make him choose one of us at least." Inner Willow shouts, "But everyone is after us instead of Sasuke! He should be after us head over heels!" Outer Willow pauses as she thinks, "So…everyone except Xander is after us…oh no." Inner Willow stares at her alter ego, "Are you kidding me? How are we going to tell Xander?" Outer Willow shrugs, "How should I know? We have to tell him eventually." Inner Willow grins, "Or we could trick Ino-pig into confessing so he focuses on her." Outer Willow frowns, "What if he saw her confessing as determination? Then he might be impressed by what lengths she would go to get him!" Inner Willow rolls her eyes, "I say we let Harmony take the fall and make Xander be impressed with us for surviving this far without…you know." Outer Willow thinks, "Maybe."

Willow glances over at Harmony, "I think I know what went wrong."

"Other than the entire day?" Harmony retorts.

"I mean with the spell!"

Xander looks at them intensely. "What spell?"

Harmony glares at her co-conspirator, "You let it out of the bag; you're telling him!"

Inner Willow shouts at her roommate, "I knew it! Willow, you clumsy—" Outer Willow shuts her out before she can finish her tirade. Willow says with hesitation, "I…really like you; so does Harmony. We decided to go to Amy to put a spell on you so you would choose who you really love. It didn't seem to have any effect."

Xander closes his eyes and sighs deeply. "I had a feeling you two were up to something. But, it looks like I'm the only one in Sunnydale who is not effected, meaning…"

Harmony finishes, "Everyone else is! It was the reverse of what it should have been. Right?"

"Very good, Ino," Xander replies dryly. "We need to get to Amy and figure out how to cancel the spell. Was she affected?"

Willow shakes her head, "It didn't seem like it when we left this morning."

"Nobody was after your pants until after the spell?" Xander inquires as they run.

Harmony nods immediately. "That's right."

Xander looks at the two and shakes his head. "Lead the way then. I haven't been to her house."

**At Amy's House: **

She finishes the spell. There is a knock on the window that gets her attention. She looks up to find the three ninja gazing in at her. "Come in," she calls. The three enter the room. Willow and Ino start glowing slightly. Her eyes widen, "Oh no."

Not noticing the glow yet, Xander tilts his head curiously. "What's up, Amy? You look like something's wrong."

Amy looks down at her book to double check the supposed effects of the spell and looks back up at them. "I think I know what went wrong with the spell."

"It hit Harmony and I, didn't it?" Willow deadpans.

Amy is startled. "How did you know?"

Harmony states, "Other than our glowyness right now, Sunnydale as a whole has been trying to jump in our pants." She examines her glowing hand before smiling. "This would be really cool for next Halloween. I could go as Tinkerbell!"

"Harmony…" warns Willow. "Now is not the time."

Xander steps forward and crosses his arms. "You went along with these two to try to charm me into their pants?" Amy frowns, putting the book aside.

"If you were just more open about who you cared for, this wouldn't be an issue!" Amy retorts heatedly. "Just because you're some hot shot Uchiha doesn't mean that you can lead girls around by the nose!"

"Me a hot shot? I'm the nerd Xander Harris, in case you didn't notice! And these two have been stalking me and on the verge of jumping me without any encouragement whatsoever! What were you thinking when you decided to help them? That's practically as manipulative as your mother! Not even Orochimaru would try to pull something like this."

Amy sneers, "You have no idea. Be gone, low life rat." She points to Xander and shouts, "Hercote Ratus!" There is a bright flash of light and a small rat pokes his head out of Xander's near empty clothes. "I do not need scolding from a child like you."

Harmony shouts in surprise, "What did you do that for? He was our only bodyguard and probably the key to breaking the spell!"

Amy glares at her, "You two can survive without him. He will learn not to mess with me."

Willow smiles soothingly and holds up one open hand. "Amy, you will turn him back now, or I will turn demolition crew on you and your house. Are we understood?" She stares intently at the young witch while Harmony cracks her knuckles.

"Fine, just give me a minute," she says after a long moment. She flips through her book briefly and slams it shut. Amy hesitates and asks them, "The entire of Sunnydale is seriously after you? This could be bad."

"Why do you say that?" Willow asks.

Her counterpart adds, "She means other than the obvious."

Amy glances out the window, "I think I just saw Tara or Drusilla. Whoever it was had an Anbu mask on."

Willow and Harmony stare at Amy in shock. Inner Willow shouts out loud, "Tara's effected! We need him turned back! Now!"

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	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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"Hurry up, witch!" screeches Harmony. She faces the window with shuriken between each of her fingers. "Turn him back already!"

Amy retorts, "It takes more time! It's not as if I make it a practice turning people into rats." She flips through the book and tosses unneeded materials from her basket over her shoulder onto her bed.

Willow peers out the window and backs up slowly. "You might want to hurry. I can't see anyone out there, but I sense something."

Amy snaps, "I'll keep working on turning him back. Run for now and he'll catch up with you when he is fixed."

"But he's our only protection against everyone out there!" Harmony insists adamantly with her hands moving to cross over her chest defensively with the throwing blades ready. "We need him."

Amy focuses and tunes everyone else out. A few moments later, she jumps to her feet with a handful of herbs and bags of powder. "I have the ingredients!" The wall surrounding the window suddenly sprouts frost on the inside of it and it spreads to cover the wall completely. Two long crisscrossing cracks erupt along the wall and it shatters. The entire wall falls away to reveal Spike and Drusilla in full ninja garb.

Spike states coldly, "Why is the Hokage so interested in getting her hands on you two?" He seems to begin to zone out before Drusilla glances sharply at him. He shakes his head and regains his composure. "Well?"

Amy stammers, "M-my wall! You destroyed my wall! Why would you destroy my wall…?"

Willow looks over her shoulder and says firmly, "Amy, get to work on Xander."

Amy stares ahead blankly. "My wall…that was my wall. It's gone. Why is it gone?"

"Now, Tayuya!" Harmony snaps. She keeps her eyes on the two newcomers. "The Hokage wants us so that she can…how to put it delicately…"

Willow states bluntly, "She wants to gangbang us with the rest of Sunnydale."

Spike stares at her incredulously, "I can see why she would want to, but the Hokage? I didn't know she was into that kind of thing."

Drusilla smirks, "She must be into younger women. Not bad taste." A nervous sweatdrop trickles down Harmony's forehead.

"Do you think that…" Harmony glances at Willow.

The redhead remains motionless and whispers, "They say if you don't move, predators will most likely ignore you." Their gazes intensify. "Or not."

Harmony states, "Xander is the rat on the floor." She points to him. "And he was our protector from the rest of Sunnydale. We need protectors and are willing to pay you…assuming you don't turn us over to the Hokage."

Drusilla strides forward and circles the girls like a hungry vulture. "How much coin do you have to pay us?"

"We don't have any money, Ino," Willow whispers.

Spike grins with his shark-like teeth bared. "We are mercenaries. We are open to other forms of payment." His eyes openly wander the girls.

Drusilla grins too while draping her arms over their shoulders from behind. "I don't know about the Hokage, but we are definitely into that kind of thing. Though, it has been some time since we've had that kind of fun."

Harmony freezes in place at the feel of her arm and gulps. Willow hesitantly says, looking over at Drusilla's eyes, "We will…agree to that kind of payment, if you can really protect us."

Amy whimpers while mixing ingredients in her bowl, "My wall…that was my own personal wall!"

Spike licks his lips and nods, "Very well. Drusilla, my dear, do we have a contract with these two?"

Drusilla glances over at Amy and smirks, "Or three, yes."

Amy studiously ignores the evil destroyers of her personal wall. Her bedroom wall of all things! She finally finishes mixing the materials and points at Xander. Drusilla watches her curiously when something clicks in her head. "It's been awhile since I've tampered with magic, but if you turn Xander back into human, won't he be-"

Amy shouts, "Reverso Raticus!" The rat disappears in a cloud of smoke and leaves Xander!

Drusilla finishes, "naked?" Everyone turns to look at him.

Xander glares at Amy, "What was that for, witch?" When she doesn't answer, her eyes fixed a little...a lot lower than his eyes, he follows her, and every other person's gaze. His eyes widen and he quickly tries to cover himself. "What happened to my clothes?"

Willow blushes badly but tosses him the pile of clothes. Drusilla smirks naughtily, "Not bad. But Spike's better."

Spike grins at the compliment and shrugs. "I can see why the girls are all after you."

Xander's face is beet-red. "Shut up and stop looking!" He slips his clothes on, though he has to hop around a little to get his pants on. Harmony and Willow enjoy every moment of it. Suddenly, Willow glances suspiciously at Harmony.

"Stop looking at Xander, pig."

Harmony doesn't let her eyes leave her target while responding, "You first! He's my Xander, after all. I can look as much as I want."

Amy stares openly. "Well, as long as those two are distracted..."

They both shout at her, "Stop looking at my Xander!"

Spike wraps his arm around his lovely companion, "Dru, what do you think?"

"It would make things a lot more interesting," she admits with a mischievous smirk on her face.

Xander looks around cautiously. "Willow...what were you talking about while I was...changed?"

Willow's face becomes bright red. "Nothing to worth mentioning."

Drusilla purrs, "True enough. Words are inadequate for such things. Actions speak much louder than words." She strides forward and leans forward to kiss Xander, but his quick reflexes save him for a change and he back flips away from her.

"What's going on here?" He keeps his eyes on Drusilla while calling to Amy, "You didn't put that spell on me too, did you?"

"If I did," Amy replies smugly, "which I could if I wanted to, do you honestly think a simple back flip would have saved you from her? Or me?"

"Good enough point I think," he responds.

Spike frowns, "While I would love to continue this, we need to move out right now. Company is starting to arrive." They all nod in agreement.

They hop out of the gaping hole that used to be Amy's poor wall, but Harmony pauses long enough to shout over her shoulder, "Get this fixed ASAP!" She leaps out after them. Amy rolls her eyes, looks mournfully at her destroyed bedroom wall, and goes back to flipping through her books of magic.

The small group lands in an alley and sprints through the interconnecting alleyways, carefully masking their chakra. Xander asks while they run, "Any ideas on a good hiding place until Amy fixes the spell?"

Spike and Drusilla exchange a glance and sigh. "There's a warehouse we frequent. There shouldn't be any vampires left after our last housecleaning day," Spike replies reluctantly.

Drusilla inserts, "But it's only temporary, and only because it's imperative that we keep the lovelies safe." They simply nod in agreement and go faster with the new bodyguards leading. They exit an alley and almost run into someone.

Oz stares blankly at them with a guitar on his back next to his gourd. Larry is next to him with the usual bundles on his back, dressed in civilian clothes. Harmony sighs loudly, "We're dead. We're so very dead." For once, Xander has no answer other than a single nod.

Suddenly, sand shoots out at the bodyguards. "Your services are no longer required," Oz intones. Xander and Spike jump onto the nearest rooftops, barely dodging the sand.

Drusilla murmurs while making a one-handed sign, "Secret Ninja Art: Ice Shield." A half dome of ice surrounds her just as the sand impacts against it. It sprays on all sides and she gives a small smirk. "This should be fun."

Spike dives down at Oz, dodging blasts of sand with his sword swinging. He has to break off his attack when poisoned shuriken impact on his sword and barely miss his arm. The former vampire lord slides back onto the ground and holds up his sword just in time to block the twin arm blades of Crow. He growls and kicks the puppet away from him. The sand replaces the puppet as attacker and Spike returns to dodging. Larry notices that the ninja are being occupied by the sand fairly thoroughly. He leaps for the girls and tackles Harmony. His head lands on her chest while his arms wrap around her tightly. "My love!" he exclaims happily. She raises an eyebrow and sends him flying with a punch to the face. When he impacts the wall, his face cracks and peels off to reveal Crow. He leaps off of its back and unfurls his other bundle. "You didn't think I would go down that easy, did you?" He launches Ant at Harmony. Its chest opens and he shouts, "Come to me, my pretties! And your little dog too!"

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutus!" Dozens of miniature fireballs impact Ant, starting it to catch on fire. Larry quickly pulls it back and puts the fire out. Xander lands between him and the girls. He holds up one hand and gestures forward with a very serious look on his face. Larry growls and launches both puppets at him. Railroad spike-sized icicles fly past the girls and Xander to impact the puppets, pinning them to the building on the far side of the street. People start looking out their windows to see what the commotion is. They catch sight of Harmony and Willow and start pouring out into the street with lustful, dazed looks on their faces. Oz sends several of them flying, but Spike's attacks keep him from dealing with all of them. Xander mutters, "This could get complicated." Two men try to run past Larry into the alley, but he backhands them back into the street with an annoyed look on his face.

"This is why I don't get girlfriends," Larry states with frustration in his voice. "Too much drama and competition!" His eyes glaze over again. "But you two are totally worth it! I'm coming for you!"

Willow sighs, "So close to losing one of them."

Xander and Harmony see the opportunity and leap for the rooftops to try to get away. Willow watches them and crosses her arms. She silently counts down from five. On one, the sand cuts them off and force them back into the alleyway. They land around her and she smiles, "Welcome back. Oz is still after us too. Don't forget."

Oz is still standing in the middle of the street with his arms crossed and sand surrounding him in a turbulent storm of attacks and defenses in Spike's general direction. He calls over the noise of churning sand, "Stay."

People coming from all over town to investigate the explosions and noise start flooding into the alley the moment they see the two girls. Guys and girls of all ages gush against the sand and around Larry. Angel appears on the rooftop behind the defending trio. His eye carefully observes the flood of people and states firmly, "Too much competition." He weaves hand signs seamlessly and whispers the jutsu name inaudibly. Feathers start floating from the sky onto the combatants. Civilians nod off to sleep and collapse around the street. Larry looks up and thinks, 'That looks vaguely familiar...' before he passes out. His puppets fall with their master.

Buffy says from behind Angel, "Good work, dear. Now for our fun!" She wields her fan like a bat and leaps over his head into the alley. Angel grins under his mask and dashes forward with her. In the street, Spike groans when he senses the two newcomers.

"Just what I need," he grunts as he pushes back another blast of sand. His eyes suddenly go wide and he back flips high into the air using his sword almost like an air board. He can feel the breeze pass him of Joyce's Sannin-level punch barely missing him and connecting with the pavement. A crater sinks in where she is, her glare following the airborne ninja. Oz's sand rushes against her, but she snaps, "Tara." The Anbu appears in front of her with her sword drawn, slicing the incoming wave in half. "Keep Oz busy," Joyce finishes. Tara nods once and does a hand sign with her sword still in her hand. Electricity surges through her blade and she dives into the churning sandstorm surrounding Oz.

Drusilla and the other defenders make a hand sign to dispel the falling feathers before turning to face the new attackers. Dawn breaks through a window into the alley and rolls between Willow and Harmony. "I won't let anybody get to you, my loves. But I get to join in later tonight with you guys!"

Willow and Harmony simultaneously shrug and say, "Sure. Why not?" Willow continues, "It's not as if the rest of Sunnydale won't end up in our pants at this rate anyways."

Harmony rolls her eyes, "Such a pessimist. I think that Giles will hog me all to himself." She blushes slightly, "Though, I'm beginning to wonder if we should be resisting."

"You're joking!" Xander states almost angrily as he slashes at Buffy's fan and Angel's kunai with two of his own.

Inner Willow says thoughtfully, "We might get a chance to get Xander before everyone's done with us. Plus, Angel's kind of cute too." Outer Willow shouts, "Shut up, Traitor!"

Buffy and Angel have to retreat a few feet when large ice shuriken fly in their direction. Xander shoots a series of fireballs at them too. Buffy waves the projectiles away with her fan but quickly has to duck behind Angel for defense when metal kunai are revealed with the fire extinguished.

Drusilla senses someone appear behind her and turns quickly on her heels to deal with them. Giles stares down at her and places his hand against her chest. "Summoning Jutsu." She falls back as the large toad appears on her chest and lands in front of the summoner. Giles smirks, "Summon Combo: Water Blast Jutsu!" The oddly dressed frog does identical hand signs as the librarian and they launch a torrent of water at the ice-wielder. She quickly forms an ice shield as she stumbles to her feet. The high pressure water clashes against the shield and cracks it almost instantly. A moment later, she is washed out into the street near Oz and Tara, looking something like a drowned rat.

Buffy rushes forward with Angel again and calls to him, "I got this!" Xander holds his kunai up in a defensive stance. She feigns a punch and knees him where it counts. He groans loudly in both shock and pain as he sinks to the ground. He disappears in a puff of smoke and is replaced by a badly dented trashcan. Buffy's eyes go wide when Xander appears behind her with his arm pulled back for a punch. Buffy is pulled forward and Angel steps in her place, planting his foot into Xander's right cheek. He is sent careening out of control directly into the nearest rooftop, bouncing over the edge and out of sight.

The world disappears until only Buffy, Willow, and Harmony exist. She drops her fan and reaches out to them while she runs forward. Dawn steps forward as Buffy enters within her range. "You're within range of my Divination," she says quietly. "They're all mine." She immediately starts stabbing her sister all over the body with her fingers. "Thirty Two Palms," she says while her fingers move in a blur. Willow steps forward with Dawn and smirks as Angel's face goes from determined to daze once more. It turns into a friendly smile, making time seem to slow down for the older ninja...right before her fist sends him flying through the nearest alley wall. Dawn steps back from Buffy with a triumphant grin.

Buffy whimpers as she tries to get her body functioning again, "We'll let you join in with us if you help!" Dawn thinks about it and announces, "Maybe tomorrow. Tonight, they're mine." She pokes Buffy, who falls over. Buffy gives an uncharacteristically defeated whine.

Dawn suddenly hears in her ear, "I'll wake you up when it's your turn." Her world goes black and Joyce's arm wraps around her waist. She tosses her casually behind her and stares at her two students hungrily.

Giles appears behind Harmony. His hands instantly wrap around her chest and he whispers in her ear, "I'll make you a real woman, sweet Ino. Just let me caress and love you as you deserve to be loved." She instinctively pushes his hands away but thinks about his seductive tone. She is spun around and finds herself pinned down by the notoriously perverted, yet romantic, Sannin. "Just think, Ino," he whispers, "You can say you were truly loved by the strongest and biggest of the Sannin." She gazes up at him with a scared but indecisive look on her face.

Willow tries to dodge but Joyce pins her down with ease. "My love, you are such a slow learner sometimes. You can't escape my adoration for you," she murmurs seductively. "But, there are a few things I can really teach you. Relax and enjoy why I'm really called the Legendary Sucker." Willow's face drains of all color while Inner Willow shouts, "We will learn so much to show Xander! Cha!" Outer Willow replies quickly, "You're not the one about to be taken advantage of!" Inner Willow retorts, "Shut up and listen to your teacher. Take good notes!" A notepad is already in their mindscape with all sorts of ideas being jotted down by Inner Willow. Outer Willow can only stare and blush at the list being made.

A voice from high in the air announces, "Get away from my darlings! Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Hundreds of orange-clad Andrews pour into the alley and street. Joyce slaps them away with Tsunade strength while Giles ignores their blows to his back and head. His eyes remain fixated on Harmony's as their lips draw closer. His hands slowly unbutton her shirt.

In her house, Amy finally mixes the ingredients properly and yells excitedly, "I got it right!" She immediately starts chanting in Latin as quickly as she can. A second later, magical energy pours out of the room. "I did it!"

Joyce pulls back her fist to destroy another dozen Andrew's when she stops. "Naruto?" she asks the clones.

The librarian finally unbuttons the last button when he suddenly stops and stares at his hands. His eyes trail up from his hands to her face, which is finally...accepting of him. With a horrified yell, he leaps back and stares at both his hands. "What am I doing?"

Harmony props herself up on her elbows and states with a twinkle in her eye, "I don't recall telling you to stop. Get back over here." She stands and the motion shows her bra momentarily to him. His face goes a mix of red, green, and another color that is hard to describe. He shakes his head and runs out of the alley with a hand covering his mouth. She pouts, "Just when I started to have some fun, he chickens out." She frowns, "Wait a second, are you saying I'm UGLY?" She dashes after him, picking up Buffy's fan before leaving the alley. Oz, Spike, and Tara watch her run after him with her shirt flapping all over the place.

Oz says slowly, "Should we tell her?"

"Nah, she'll figure it out," Tara replies. A moment later, a horrified scream comes from Harmony down the street when she realizes that she's unbuttoned completely.

"I am going to get Amy for ending that spell like that!" Harmony raves as her direction changes from Giles to Amy's house.

Willow breathes a sigh of relief and asks Joyce cautiously, "Um...please look at me. What do you feel right now?"

Joyce turns around and wraps her in a big bear hug with tears streaming down her face anime-style. "I'm so sorry! To think that I was going to do such things to my beloved student is disgraceful! Please forgive me."

Willow says from her teacher's large chest, "Can't breathe!"

The clones disappear and Andrew hesitantly approaches Willow, rubbing the back of his head slowly. Willow detaches herself from Joyce to deal with him. He says reluctantly, "Does this mean our dates canceled?" Willow nods once. "And...anything afterwards?" She nods again. He sighs sadly, "That's not fair. I protected you twice against overwhelming odds! Can't I even get a kiss?" Willow thinks about it for a long moment and finally sighs.

"Fine." She leans forward and kisses him gently on the cheek.

He turns red but protests, "But, I deserve one on the lips! Come on!"

She smiles with deceptive calmness, "Andrew, I have had a very long and stressful day. Do not push your luck." He sighs mournfully and leaves her alone. She smiles, "Wow, he's actually being smart for once." A suspicious look crosses her face. She instantly pulls both elbows back and disappates the last clone of Andrew that was reaching for...his death warrant. "Thought so."

Joyce calls, "Let's gather everyone and bandage them up! And will somebody find Giles and tell him it's okay to show his face again?"

**Amy's House: **

Harmony appears in the empty space of the wall. Amy grins, "Hey, Harmony! I broke the spell just in time, from the looks of it." A smug smile is on her face. "What? I don't even get a thank you?" At that moment, she realizes that it is not a smile of gratitude on Harmony's face. It is a smile of homicidal rage.

"You turned off the spell at the best part! I almost got laid for the first time in my life!" She starts kicking and punching wildly at Amy.

The witch dodges quickly and protests, "But you wanted me to turn it off! You practically ordered me to. Stop attacking me!"

"That was before Giles seduced me and almost made me a real woman!" she screeches as her attack continues.

Amy pauses briefly and stares at her in shock, "The old librarian?" A punch nails her right in the nose.

"Shut up!"

"I guess he has a certain charm about him...but I didn't know you were into older-" Another punch finds its way to her nose. "Stop punching me! Whatever happened to the Uchiha crush anyways?"

"Imagine what I could have learned from the Legendary Sannin of Perversion to awe Xander with later!"

This time, Amy dodges the punch and scoffs, "I saw that coming!" A kick lands on her shins. "Ouch! Stop hurting me, you crazy cheerleader!" Their argument echoes from the open room across Sunnydale. Giles hears it and loses all color in his face, moving in the opposite direction of the sound faster than before.

**Unknown Location: **

In a long, dimly lit corridor, two men walk. "Is there any word?"

"Yes, sir. We finally managed to find one that escaped."

The other man raises an eyebrow, "Surprising. I was beginning to think that vampires were going extinct in that area since Halloween."

They open the large wooden doors at the end of the hallway. Surrounded by torches, a vampire is tied with chains to a large wooden circle on the wall. It starts screaming as the interrogator presses a cross to its chest. One of the men steps forward and waves the interrogator away. He inquires, "Is it ready to talk?" The vampire nods desperately.

"It is."

The man leans forward into the light and grabs the vampire by the hair. "What do you know of Sunnydale and Angelus?"

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	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1, or don't. I don't care. I really don't. So you can stop reading the disclaimer now. I'm disclaiming this disclaimer! What? You're still reading? What's wrong with you? Don't you have a life? No? Great! Read on then.

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**Outskirts of Sunnydale at the Bus Stop: **

A tall dark haired man steps off the bus. His wide brimmed hat casts a shadow over his face. He is the only passenger, but his arrival does not go unnoticed. He passes a bum lying under the bus stop bench and continues on his way. The bum's eyes zoom in on his face. A graying mustache is visible despite the shadow and his permanent scowl would be enough to make any human uneasy. Fortunately, no human is nearby.

**At Sunnydale High School: **

Ms. Calendar is nearing the end of her computer class. Suddenly, her pager goes off on her belt. She checks it and immediately tenses up. The other ninja in the room notice it, but the average student passes it off as 'teacher business'. She quickly wraps up the class, giving out a little more homework than usual much to the students' dismay. The students file out to get to their next classes. Kendra approaches her cautiously. "Is everything all right, Ms. Calendar?" she inquires.

Jenny smiles slightly, "Yes, everything is fine. You should get to class before you're late." She gathers her books and quickly exits the room. Kendra sniffs the air and frowns at the tension in the air. She dismisses it to leave to her next class. If Ms. Calendar needed help, she would ask for it.

**At the Library: **

Harmony strolls in the room wearing a purple miniskirt and a matching sleeveless top. Her hair is back in a ponytail, but she flips the hair out of habit while her eyes scan the room. She spots Giles filing books in his office. Walking up to him, she asks, "You called for me?"

She rolls her eyes when he instantly starts cleaning his glasses. "Yes, I did call you here. I…would like to apologize for my behavior during the spell. While I was under the influence of magic and…Jiraiya, I was not quite myself. I hope this will not cause any undue awkwardness in our work situation."

"In other words, we should just forget it ever happened and move on with life, right? No awkwardness between coworkers on the field," Harmony says with a smile, but her hands move to her hips.

He misses the subtle sign as he focuses on the papers in front of him, avoiding eye contact. "Exactly. I would prefer that the incident be discounted as a magic-related accident as per usual here in Sunnydale."

Harmony leans forward on the desk, slamming her palms down against the desk. "Mr. Giles, don't you know it's rude not to look at someone when you're talking to them?" She stares down at him. Wearing out yet another pair of glasses through constant rubbing, he looks up enough to see a fair amount of cleavage from the low-cut shirt and quickly looks back down at his glasses. She says, almost growling, "Jiraiya, look me in the face right now." He gulps and hesitantly looks up at her face. After a second or two of maintaining eye contact with him, she grins, "Much better." Before he knows what is going on, she grabs onto the front of his shirt, pulls him across the desk, and kisses him hard full on the lips. His eyes go wide and she kisses him for a moment longer before pushing him back into his chair. The wall behind him barely keeps the chair upright. She seems to think while licking her lips. "I'll be back in a year or two when I'm legal. We'll see what happens then." She starts to walk out of the room, shaking enough to keep his attention.

"B-But, I don't think that behavior is very approp—" he begins.

She cuts him off as she glances over her shoulder, "I don't care. You romanced me, seduced me, showed me the side of you that I _really_ like. When I come back in a year or two, we _will_ discuss this in detail one way or another." She thinks about it again and her eyes bore into him. "Don't bother trying to leave town in that time. I will find you." She smiles seductively and places her hand on her exposed leg before strutting out of the library.

"But!" he yells as the doors close. He sighs loudly and leans back in his chair, his face flushed. The Jiraiya in the back of his mind is cheering him on for scoring such a hot young thing and for doing such a great job on the romancing. He can't help but feel a moment of pride as he remembers the poetry he wrote for her on the floor…which took three hours to scrub out, though Harmony was studying the poem and writing something down in a notebook while he scrubbed it out…anyways! "You idiot," he whispers to himself, "We almost raped her. Not even you would do that."

The Jiraiya grins and whispers back, "She was more than willing by the time we got that far. No rape involved."

"Statutory," he grunts back.

"Technicalities," Jiraiya retorts. "Plus, she won't lose her figure or everything that makes her so incredibly luscious before she comes back legally! She will be ours and…"

"SHUT UP," he shouts, standing up from his chair. A student who just entered the library hears him shout and quickly retreats to come back when the Librarian is in a better mood. Crazy teachers, but what can one do in Sunnydale? He sighs and sits down again. "I need help with this one. Who would know Harmony better than anyone else that would be…sensitive to the dangers in this delicate situation?" He flips out his cell phone and dials Joyce Summers.

"Hello?" Joyce answers the phone.

"Hello, Joyce. This is Rupert. I have a small problem that I need your help with."

**Several Minutes Later Outside of the Summer's Home: **

Several people are walking by the house when a nearly diabolical laugh ripples from the house. (MWAHAHAHAHA!) They pause to look at the house and walk faster past. In Sunnydale, you just don't want to know. Ever.

**At the Library:**

"Joyce, this isn't funny!" Giles groans as he rubs his temples with one hand. "Your student wants to...sleep with me. That's very inappropriate and I cannot take advantage of a young woman like that! Besides, I don't even see her in that way!"

"Jiraiya you does," Joyce laughs.

"But _I _don't! The Jiraiya side is not the dominant one! Please help?" he nearly begs.

"I'll talk to her, but you're on your own after that. You romanced her, remember?"

Giles glares at the phone dangerously. "And if Willow was after you for your charm during the spell, I would at least try to help you." The killer intent more or less floods the library, directed at the tiny phone in his hand.

Joyce shrugs on the other end. "Maybe. But she hasn't….that I know of. So, you need to talk to her. Maybe you could get some advice from Amy. She seems to know Harmony fairly well these days." She "accidentally" leaves out the after-spell brawl at Amy's apartment.

He sighs, "I already have women in my life, Joyce. I don't need more problems."

"Like my dear apprentice Jenny?"

"How long did it take you to figure that out? Five? Ten minutes?"

"About three."

"If you don't intervene, we will have your Apprentices brawling in the streets," Giles warns. After a long moment of silence, he shouts into the phone, "It would not be funny!" The laughter finally bursts from the phone.

"Yeah, it would be!" she laughs. "But, I will talk to them. Hey! Are you calling us problems?" Joyce asks, mock offended.

Giles rolls his eyes, "Of course not, beautiful. A super-strength wielding babe, a mind-walking hottie, and a kunoichi well versed in poisons are not problems at all."

"Are you saying that I'm one of the women in your life?" she suggests slyly.

He smirks, "No. You'd like that too much. I have to grade papers. Talk to you soon." He hangs up. Joyce sighs and hangs up too.

**Jenny's House: **

Jenny Calendar sits in a chair in the middle of the room, watching the door. She checks her watch and refocuses on the door. A few seconds later, the man opens it quietly. "Hello, Uncle Ulof," she says pleasantly despite the lack of smile on her face.

The man jumps slightly and glares at her. "Niece, what is happening here?"

"You just walked in," she replies smoothly.

He stalks to her. "That is not what I meant! The Elder says that the suffering of Angelus has ceased! You reported everything was under control!"

"The Slayer killed him," she states simply. "Everything is under control."

Ulof grunts with a scowl, "The Gypsy Clan must have its vengeance! Angelus killed the one who was most precious to us and must suffer for eternity as we suffer!"

"Uncle, it was one girl, over a hundred years ago. How does making the human spirit of Liam suffer harm the demon?" Jenny asks calmly.

Ulof says louder, "Do not question me, girl! The Gypsy Clan is not interested in casualties. It is not interested in those caught in the crossfire. It is interested only in Angelus' suffering."

"Than I suggest you either go tell the Elder that Angelus is dead and live with the fact that our job is done, or you can go to hell and retrieve Angelus yourself." She smiles sweetly. "I can have either arranged, dear Uncle."

He stammers in outrage, "Y-you disrespectful, ungrateful whelp! The Elder will hear of this insolence! I will be back. Do not try to run. We will find you no matter where you hide!"

She smiles, "Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing. The door is behind you, Uncle. Use it." His face is nearly red with fury but he huffs and leaves, slamming the door behind him.

He glares at anyone who passes him, until he passes a man reading a small orange book. Angel holds up a hand and gives him a half hearted, "Yo," before continuing on his way. Ulof glares and then suddenly freezes in midstep. He slowly turns around and stares.

"Impossible!" he gasps. Angel hears it but decides to ignore it. Ulof runs after him and grabs his shoulder, turning him around. He stares at Angel's currently unmasked face as the sunlight shines on his cheek. "Y-you're..." He has a shaky finger pointing directly at Angel.

The one-eyed shinobi who has a henge covering his forehead protector follows his finger to the book he's holding. "You're a fan of Master Jiraiya as well? I didn't realize that he was widely published already! I mean, he talked about doing it, of course, but Lady Tsunade would have pulverized him. This makes me so happy!" Ulof blinks a few times. "What part is your favorite? I particularly like Komura in chapter three. When he seduces the young fair-haired girl during a particularly rough day at the dojo…you know, now that I think about it, it seems vaguely familiar." Angel thinks and shrugs. "It must be because I've read this so many times. It's fantastic! The plot is riveting! I wish I had such talent to write a book like this. I even got his autograph! See?" He opens the book to show Jiraiya's autograph on the inside cover. He shuts it and looks back at him. "So who's your favorite?" Angel has a wide smile and stares at him expectantly.

"Um…I…" Ulof begins.

"I know! It's just so hard to pick, isn't it? It's all so good. Well, I have to get going. Later!" He turns and walks away.

Ulof whispers, "I thought you were someone else…" He turns around and walks the opposite way in a daze. "There is no way Angelus would be so…whatever that was. Still, to be on the safe side, I must inform the Elder of this. Whoever that is could be Angelus' twin, and he's walking around in the daylight! I also cannot forgive her behavior! How dare she treat me like that!"

He hurries towards his prepaid hotel room when a noisy car catches his attention. "Teenagers," he grunts in annoyance. The Romanian gypsy stops briefly to glance at the car. A dark haired woman is hanging an arm out of a 1950's convertible and head banging to the darker gothic music while a blonde man is driving fast with an evil grin plastered on his face. He follows the car with his eyes. "There's something vaguely familiar…" he thinks. Suddenly, it hits him. "Those two as well? That's it! Vampires in Sunnydale have become immune to sunlight! I must report to the Elder immediately!" Drusilla blows him a kiss in passing, making him pale now that he realizes who she is. Who would have guessed? The Scourges of Europe have made Sunnydale their local hangout.

As they turn the corner, Spike turns to Drusilla and says, "You were right, luv. That was fun!"

Ulof stares after them blankly and immediately runs to his hotel room. He picks up the hotel room phone and dials the clan. "Get me the Elder!" he orders. "Sunnydale is much worse than we could have imagined!"

**Preview for Future Episode: **

Angel is jumping across treetops outside of Sunnydale on his way for some personal training. Something catches his attention. He follows his senses to see who is using chakra nearby. He lands in a tree and sees Kitty sitting in a cross-legged meditating position with her eyes closed under a large oak tree. A tree leaf sits in each palm as she tries to focus on making them hover. He smiles slightly at her efforts and turns to continue to his training spot. Something catches his eye; he slowly turns to stare closer. Angel lifts his forehead protector and gazes with the Sharingan. "Impossible," he whispers with wide eyes.

**Five Minutes Later at the Summer's House: **

Joyce sighs at the front door, "What's the emergency, Kakashi?"

Angel breathes slightly heavier than usual and states, "You are not going to believe what I just saw!"

**

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Omake

:

Ulof finishes his report to the Elder and asks for further instructions. The phone goes dead. "Hello? Hello!" he shouts into the phone. The lights flicker in his room before going completely out. He tries to open the door to find it stuck. He opens the window blinds and sees nothing but dark clouds and lightning. As lightning strikes somewhere in town, he turns around quickly, seeing nothing but furniture in his room. It fades back into darkness. The lightning flashes again, and now there are deadly looking warriors surrounding him. "Mr. Ulof," begins the well endowed blonde that everyone seems to be surrounding. "We want to talk." He begins screaming. A long while later, the clouds fade, the lightning flashes, Ulof is nearly having a heart attack, and everyone has vanished.

Xander and Andrew walk away side by side. Andrew announces, "That was so cool! I've always wanted to do an X-Men scene!"

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	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: The usual. What if it is unusual? Huh? What will you do? Will you be able to cope? Oh well, we'll never know. The usual. Still.

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**Three Days Later: **

Three black SUV's drive past the "Welcome to Sunnydale" Sign in a small convoy. They make their way through Sunnydale until they pull in at the Hotel. The doors all open and the first few out take up lookout positions around the vehicles as the others exit the vehicle and file into the building, a dozen total. The last one out closes the doors and follows the rest up. They reach one of the rooms and knock. Ulof opens the door and sighs in relief, "Thank goodness you are here! This place is a madhouse." He stands aside as they enter. The last one takes a final look around before closing the door behind him.

The oldest of them takes off his hat and states, "Tell us everything, Ulof. Leave nothing out."

Outside the building, a figure steps out of the shadow of an overhanging roof. It looks up at the Hotel where it can see shadows in one of the windows. The figure disappears.

**At Jenny Calendar's House: **

In her living room, Jenny has a small box set up with an antenna sticking out. She listens on headphones to the Gypsy conversation. "Oh no," she whispers to herself, "They're here! I better deal with them before the others find out."

**At Angelus' Mansion on the Outskirts of Sunnydale: **

Angel sits at a round table with the Gypsies on loudspeaker. The former vampire switches it off and looks around at his three companions. He smiles, "I think we could have some fun with this." He turns to his right, "You know what to do." The person disappears. He turns to his left and grins mischievously at Spike and Drusilla, "Ready to have some fun?" Their grins match his.

**That Night: **

Jenny sits cross-legged behind the hotel and focuses on their life energy. Suddenly the signatures all disappear, as if she were cut off. She frowns and begins a self diagnostic, "I should be fine…" She finishes the diagnostic. "Nothing's wrong with me. Wait!" She closes her eyes and reaches out with her clan-trained magical senses. She senses faint residue from a spell. She hurries and climbs up a wall to look into their window. They are all gone.

While she stares into their room, the Gypsy men are heading into town. A clean shaven short gypsy whispers, "Spell activate. They are in the nearest graveyard." He leads the way. Jenny cautiously follows the trail that they leave behind with her magic senses.

**At the Graveyard: **

The gypsies hide behind tombstones, slowly creeping closer and closer. Angel, Drusilla, and Spike are sitting on tombstones and chatting. Drusilla has a mad look in her eye and is wearing a long black dress with her hair flowing down over her shoulders. Spike has his usual leather while Angel is wearing a black trench coat over his clothes. The men overhear them talking. "So, what's the plan for tonight, daddy?" Drusilla purrs to Angel.

He scratches his chin thoughtfully, "A massacre would be nice."

"Massacres are a Sunday thing," Spike retorts casually. "I am thinking burning a few churches and schools would be better."

"We can't do that! That's for Tuesday!" Dru giggles.

Angel sighs, "Fine. How about just slaughtering the little lambs who followed us here?"

Drusilla and Spike turn to stare at the partially hidden gyspies. Spike growls, "Splendid idea." All three of them grin with a vampiric visage covering their foreheads and their fangs show.

The gypsies stand as one. Ulof announces, "So, you filthy vampires could sense us despite our being magically cloaked."

"No," Angel replies calmly. "You're just terrible at hiding. Seriously, I know a little girl who could hide better than you could."

"Thanks, daddy!" Drusilla squeals.

"Not you, Dru," Angel chuckles. "Though, to be fair, you are better than the Hyuga." Dru claps her hands excitedly.

The gypsies exchange glances cautiously and raise their crossbows and shotguns. A few of them draw swords. Spike laughs, "Let's kill them already! This is too easy!"

Jenny back flips over the trio's heads and lands in front of them. "Don't attack them!" she shouts at the clan. "Believe it or not, just one of them could kill you all before you realized you were dead."

Angel drapes an arm around her while Spike hangs on her other shoulder. "Honey," Angel says with a grin, "You're interrupting our fun." She looks back and forth between them and than her eyes get wide. Her mind hurriedly connects the dots.

"Yeah, hogging them all to yourself is just selfish!" Spike remarks.

Ulof shouts, "She's in league with the vampires!"

Jenny sighs and drops her head, "The Sannin knew about this. Frack."

"Let me just kill the noisy one," Drusilla says excitedly.

Jenny shakes her head, "Don't attack them! And I'm not in league with vampires! Angel, Spike, Drusilla, please let me handle this."

Joyce uncloaks herself from behind the gypsies and walks towards them slowly. "Tsk tsk tsk, Shizune, you should have known to get us involved with this right away."

Giles approaches from the right of them while Warren comes from the left. The vampires look disappointed at them stealing their limelight. Spike whines, "But we are having fun! Come on!"

The Sannin surround the Gypsies slowly, causing the men to redirect their weapons on the newcomers. "Stay away," Ulof warns. Every weapon is ready to fire.

"Lady Tsunade! Jiriaya, Orochimaru, please let me handle this! I can handle my own clan," Jenny implores them.

"Nope," Warren says, shaking his head. "I don't like their hats. They're going down."

One of the gypsy men shout, "They're all vampires! We need to take them out!" He fires his gun. The bullet hits Warren in the chest, causing him to stumble back. He looks down at the wound before turning into a pile of mud.

Jenny sighs, "Why did you have to shoot him of all people?"

The gypsy clan members are staring open mouthed at the pile of mud, looking back and forth between the shotgun and the mud pile. "What did you load in that thing?" Ulof gasps.

"Just normal bullets!" the clan member insists.

The earth rises up behind the man to take the form of Warren. "You shot at me. Do you think a weapon like that will work on the great Orochimaru?" he coos in the man's ear. The man spins around with his gun raised. An arm plunges into his chest. He stares down at the arm in his chest and gasps his last breath. Falling back as the pain spreads through his body, he is about to hit the ground when he opens his eyes and jerks forward. He drops his gun and examines his chest, but there is nothing wrong with it.

He looks back up to see Warren nose to nose with him. An eerie smile is still plastered on the Sannin's face. "What did you do to me, demon?" exclaims the man as he quickly backpedals towards his comrades.

"Nothing major, just a glimpse of your immediate future," Warren grins cheekily. The gypsy man pales.

The other gypsies hurriedly try to raise their weapons to fire or slice him to pieces, but Warren makes a handsign with his smile never fading. Over a dozen large anacondas burst from the ground and wrap around each of them. They drop their weapons as the snakes tighten around their arms and legs. "What is this sorcery?" roars Ulof.

Joyce states calmly, "I would be quiet if I were you, gypsy. The snakes don't like loud noises. Upsetting them would be unwise."

Ulof glares while a younger gypsy cries out, "If this snake was gone, I would kill you all, demons!"

Giles chuckles and says casually, "Let him go."

"Excuse me?" Joyce says with a raised eyebrow.

"He said that he will kill us all if the snake was gone. Release him," she explains.

Jenny begs, "Please don't kill him!"

The snake disappears and the gypsy says, "Don't worry. It will be a quick death."

"I wasn't talking to you," Jenny retorts. The man picks up a spiked club.

Joyce takes a relaxed stance and gestures for him to come at her. She holds up a single finger. Giles covers his eyes and shakes his head. Warren rolls his eyes, "Show off." Jenny's eyes get big and she sighs worriedly having déjà vu.

The man lets out a yell and charges at her with the club swinging. She flicks the club and the metal end flies straight up. The man's eyes follow it. He stops running and watches it disappear into the sky. A few seconds later, he watches it come back down and make a small crater next to him. He looks from the crater to his opponent. Her finger is less than an inch from his forehead. "Run," she states.

He falls back and crawls as quickly as he can away. She laughs. Giles says, "Maybe we should have had the Genin take care of this. I know that Naruto would have a lot of fun. But, Tsunade, this is getting boring to quickly. Perhaps we should let them fight who they came for: Angel, Spike, and Drusilla." Joyce smiles and nods once. Jenny sits on a tombstone to watch. The snakes disappear in puffs of smoke. The men gather their weapons and hurriedly get them ready. The men fire at the former vampires, but the bullets go right through them.

Jenny steps in front of the gypsies and states firmly, "Enough." She makes a one handed sign and the clones disappear. She spins around and pulls Ulof down to her level by the shirt collar. "Angelus is gone, Uncle. Spike and Drusilla are gone! The gypsy clan has had their revenge for over a century! If you want to torture the demon, summon him into your own body! Oh, wait. We wouldn't want him to get comfortable, now would we?"

"How dare you!" Ulof growls.

"Yes," Jenny snaps. "How dare I think about what we were doing! We tortured Angelus the demon but nothing was said about what happened to the human soul Liam. You told me to keep an eye on things, but you gave me no information on how the curse worked! If I had more information, I could have done my job! But what if he had gotten loose? He would have become the Scourge again! You don't care about the people! Just torturing him. For what? Killing one of our girls over a hundred years ago! You are lost in the past."

"Our vengeance is absolute!" Ulof retorts heatedly. "We do not care about who gets caught in the crossfire or who gets hurt. Only our vengeance matters! It is what we live and die for."

Jenny glares in annoyance, "It is what you are all going to die for if you come after him again. Surely the debt has been repaid."

"You do not understand, woman." He pushes her away from him and straightens his coat. "You are dead to us. We will be back for the demon another day."

Angel looks up from a book that he's reading, "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Ulof growls at him and holsters his pistol. He snaps his fingers and starts to walk away, the other men falling in line behind him.

Giles puts his hand on Jenny's shoulder and says quietly, "You still have a family."

She nods and puts her hand over his, "I have all of you." She watches them leave the graveyard solemnly.

Spike shouts after them, "Yeah! You hear that, sissy boys? We are her family!" He laughs as they start to walk away faster. He has a mischievous gleam in his eye before disappearing. He reappears in front of Ulof and whispers, "Boo." They jump and dive for cover as he swings his massive sword down, causing a small shockwave to wash over them. He lifts his sword and leans it back on his shoulder while looking down at the terrified men. "By the way, if you come after us again, I won't miss with this blade of mine. Jenny won't be around to save you either. Next time, it'll just be you blokes and me. There will be no contest." He disappears again and reappears next to Jenny.

Jenny looks over at him and he shrugs, "If they come after any of us again, not even you will be able to find their bodies. Come, Dru." He strolls away with her following close behind. He stops at the edge of the graveyard and calls over his shoulder, "And next time, come to us." He whistles a tune and leaves.

Angel snaps his book shut and tells her, "While I appreciate that you were trying to prevent a bloodbath, you should trust us next time. We are family after all, right?" He holds out his hand to her. She sighs and nods, shaking his hand. He smiles, "Good. You're making me an apple pie. I expect it in the morning for the tonight's unnecessary drama." He walks away.

She calls after him, "But you personally went to the trouble of creating most of the drama!" He disappears. "Men," she grunts. She turns to the Sannin and bows, "I'm sorry that I kept this from you. It won't happen again."

Giles grins and pats her on the head, making her eye twitch. "That's all right, Shizune! Just remember who your boss is."

"Yes, that would be me," Joyce states, glaring at her fellow Sannin. He grins and releases her head to rub his neck nervously.

"I'd best be going. Good chat! Bye." He disappears in a swirl of leaves.

She turns to face the remaining Sannin who is watching her silently. After a long moment, Warren says, "Ditto. I get dibs on the bodies." He seeps into the ground with an unusually cheerful smile on his face.

**Next Day at the School Library: **

Dawn storms into the library shouting, "I can't believe I still can't get it down! No matter how long I try I can't get it!"

Jonathan hurries in after her, saying soothingly, "You'll get the 32 Palm strike down soon, Dawn. We just need more practice." Dawn holds up a hand to silence him and sniffs the air.

"Is that apple pie?" She follows her nose to Angel in full Kakashi garb eating an apple pie.

He looks up at her between bites and replies, "Mine."

**

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**

Omake:

Three days later…How Ominous…:

Two large SUV's drive up to the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign and open up. Men in old clothes but armed to the teeth with both modern and ancient weapons ranging from battle axes to submachine guns pile out and look up at the sign. The oldest bearded one of the men nod and they proceed into town. Background music plays as they have their dramatic entrance into town. Suddenly, the music stops as they look around suspiciously. The second in command whispers, "Sir, I can't shake this feeling that we're being watched!"

"It is your imagination," he responds curtly and continues forward. The music continues playing again. They march towards the Hotel when suddenly they stop again. "I can't shake the feeling either," the commander states. They all look around at the surrounding buildings but can't find anyone watching.

A block away:

Dawn and Jonathan sit cross-legged on her bed with their Byakugans active. "Thanks for helping me with my training, Cousin Jonathan," Dawn says respectfully. He nods once in acknowledgement. "Hey, Jonathan, I see a bunch of armed men coming into town. Who do you think they are?"

"It's not our concern. Focus, Dawn. Focus!" he replies. She nods quickly and goes back to looking as far as she can.

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	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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**In Giles' Office in the Library: **

The librarian rifles through newspaper articles. He studies the obituary columns. The aging Brit seems to be unsettled. He jots notes down on his notepad as he compares deaths and causes. Giles jumps in his seat when Jenny knocks on his doorframe. She smiles, "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. What are you working on?"

"I'm glad you are here, actually," Giles states as he cleans his glasses. "I have noticed an odd pattern in recent deaths at the hospital."

"Vampires?" she asks as she goes behind him, leaning over his shoulder to look at the newspapers.

He shakes his head. "No. There seems to be a high mortality rate in the children's wing of the hospital. It has been going on for several weeks now and nobody seems to notice."

"It is the flu season, Jiraiya," she points out.

He raises an eyebrow and looks up at her, "The flu does not kill over a dozen children with apparent heart attacks. The thing that makes it more suspicious is that it appears to only happen at night."

Jenny picks up his notepad and glances over the information. "You're right. Something is wrong. Lady Tsunade has been saying that we should be doing volunteer work at the hospital for awhile now. I think it is about time we implemented that plan."

Giles relaxes slightly and leans back in his chair. "My thoughts exactly. I will do some checking in on the staff and their histories to see if any of them have dabbled in the dark arts and could have done something to cause this disturbing trend. Do you need any papers or credentials?"

The computer teacher smiles charmingly at him and replies with confidence, "Who do you think you are talking to? I will be fine on my own. I should find Lady Tsunade." She walks around his desk towards the main library. She pauses in the doorway, "I've heard a rumor about a certain cheerleader and the librarian. Is there any truth to that?" He feels killer intent leaking from her despite her calm expression.

He rubs his eyes and responds tiredly, "It's nothing to worry about this year, I assure you."

She smiles, "That's good to know. However, if that cheerleader and librarian ever become…too friendly before then," she plants a throwing star between Giles' fingers, impaling a newspaper. "Than I would have to have a very serious discussion with that librarian. Am I clear?"

He yanks the star out and grins nervously, "Do I detect jealousy in your voice?"

"If that star doesn't give you a clue, nothing will. Am I Clear, Mr. Giles?"

"As crystal," the librarian replies with a smirk. "Don't forget your toy before you leave." It impales the doorframe next to her face.

She pulls it out and slips it up her sleeve. "Thanks." Jenny walks out, causing him to slump in his chair and sigh heavily.

**At Sunnydale Hospital Several Days Later in the Afternoon: **

The head nurse shakes Jenny's and then Joyce's hand. "It's so nice to have volunteers! We are always so short staffed here at Sunnydale Hospital," she says cheerfully. The nurse glances out the window to the young girl sitting in a chair reading her book. "Is that your daughter?"

"Yes," Joyce replies pleasantly. "I'm afraid that I couldn't find a babysitter, so I had to bring her with me today."

"That's perfectly all right," the nurse reassures her.

Dawn has dark sunglasses over her eyes as she has her face down towards the book. What the nurse doesn't see is the bulging Byakugan behind the tinted glass. Her eyes search throughout the complex, peering through walls and finding the patients. Once she looks into the children's ward, she tries to see through the wall into the next ward. Most of the wall is transparent, except for a man-sized section in the wall. "What have we here?" Dawn murmurs to herself with a growing smile.

The door to the office opens and the adults come out. "Is that a good book, little girl? You sure seem to be enjoying it!" Dawn nods and smiles at her, nodding once to her mother. Joyce frowns but quickly covers it with a smile as well. The nurse turns to Jenny and Joyce, "You can start tonight. We really need the help. Let's say around…eight o'clock."

"That will be fine," Jenny says gratefully. "We really appreciate giving us the jobs on such short notice."

"In Sunnydale, my dear, we will take any help that we can get!" the head nurse replies enthusiastically. "Well, I have to be off on my rounds. See you later!"

"See you later," Joyce echoes before heading straight for the exit. "What did you find, Dawn?"

Dawn whispers, "The building's clean of the supernatural. But there is something wrong in the children's ward."

"That's where Jiraiya said the deaths were taking place," Jenny inserts.

"What do you mean exactly by something wrong?" Joyce inquires seriously.

Dawn shrugs, "There is something wrong with the wall! I can't see through part of it."

The older women exchange glances. "Dawn, tonight, you are paying a visit to the children's ward to show us exactly where that section is. If Jiraiya's hunch is right, we will be busy tonight," her mother states.

Dawn sighs, "There goes my plans for any beauty sleep."

**That Night Just Outside the Children's Ward: **

Three women wait near the door in nurses' outfits. "Hinata, anything yet?" whispers the blonde of the group.

The other woman shakes her head slowly, her body shimmering for a moment before returning to normal as she focuses. Her eyes are almost pupil-less. Her eyes widen, "It's here. Let's go!" She pulls the door open and they rush in. They fall into a triangle formation. The henge is released and Dawn rushes forward.

A horribly scarred humanoid creature crawls onto a bed on top of a young girl. She starts screaming, but Dawn tackles him to the ground. Joyce and Jenny look on blankly. "What are you doing, Hinata?" Jenny snaps. "Where is the monster?"

Dawn struggles on the ground as the creature tries to pin her down. "It's on top of me! Help! Anytime today would be nice!"

"Will you stop rolling on the ground? This is no time for games," her mother insists sternly. Dawn's eyes widen when the creature's eyes pop out and slowly extend towards her on stalks.

Dawn shrieks, "Kick the air above me! Now!" Joyce steps forward and does a powerful kick, connecting with something that makes a nice indent in the wall. Jenny shoots needles at the center of the indent, clearly hitting something. Odd colored blood starts leaking around the needles. The youngest ninja rolls to her feet and says, "Try to kill me, will ya? 16 Palms!" Her hands fly in a blur. They impact, making the man-sized indent deepen on the wall. She backs up when the creature growls and shakes off the needles, making them clink on the floor.

Joyce and Jenny watch in surprise as the empty space slowly opens to reveal a poor-man's version of Freddy Krueger. Joyce grabs onto its collar and slams it into the floor. She lets go of it. After a minute or two, it slowly sits up in a daze. Jenny is standing behind him. A quick snap of its neck, and the battle is over. "Interesting," Jenny states. "Orochimaru will probably be able to make good use of this corpse."

By now, the children in the ward are wide awake and watched the battle. A boy cheers, "You killed the Nightmare Man!" They all cheer. Jenny summons a slug to carry the corpse out the window to the library.

Dawn lifts up the demon's hat and places it on her head. "Cool hat." She notices the cheering and holds up twin victory signs, "Yeah! I'm the best! Thank you!" Her face is bright red at the cheering.

Joyce raises an eyebrow and makes a handsign. "I am glad you enjoyed the show, children. But now it's time to go back to sleep." The children's eyes get heavy and they fall back into their beds fast asleep. Looking around, she frowns, "I am no Yamanacha like Ino, but I think I know what will do the trick. Just enough to erase the past ten minutes or so." She places her hand on a sleeping child's head and sends a burst of chakra through the part of the brain dealing with short term memory. Jenny follows her example and within three minutes, the room is dealt with.

Dawn looks up at her mom, "Can I go home now?"

"Yes. We need to finish our rounds and clean up the mess. I'll see you in the morning, honey," Joyce smiles.

Her daughter's face is still red, "Mom!" She jumps out the window to start her trip home.

**At Middle School the Next Day: **

Dawn yawns as she walks up to the school. She grumbles, "Stupid demons and their nocturnal habits." She sees Kitty and Carlos sitting by a tree. She sneaks up from behind them and climbs up. As she is about to scare them, she takes a moment to listen in.

Kitty eats an apple while she says, "Hey, you know our training?"

Carlos sigh, "Please don't talk about that. I get tired just thinking about it."

The young woman rolls her eyes, "I'm serious! Do you remember how high we jumped before we started the training?" Carlos nods. "I've been doing some measurements, and I can jump higher than the high school track team now!"

Carlos scratches his head and replies, "Good for you. What does that have to do with us? It's only natural that we get better when we work out as much as we have."

"But this quickly? It's ridiculous! It's almost as if something is helping is improve faster than is normal!" Kitty insists.

"Could it be that we're just completely awesome and improve faster than most people?"

"NO!" Kitty shouts, hitting his arm with a book. "You are missing the whole point! Something weird is going on. I have a feeling that they're not telling us something."

Dawn jumps down and lands between them, "Hey, guys!" They scream and fall back. She grins, "So, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing!" Kitty smiles weakly. "You shouldn't scare me like that. I could have had a heart attack!"

"Don't worry," Dawn grins more. "I will be here to make sure that they use the zapper machine on you!"

Kitty palms her own forehead. "How reassuring."

**That Night: **

Drusilla tosses and turns in her sleep. Darkness surrounds her consciousness. Slowly, the inky mist parts. "Where am I?" she asks herself. Two people are arguing in what looks like a school hallway. She swims closer through the darkness but still cannot make out what they are saying. The woman cries and runs away from a man. They run towards the exit when they both stop. The man slowly pulls out a gun. She tries to read his lips but can't seem to. "Stop! Don't shoot!" she shouts, diving forward to stop him. The gun goes off. She jerks herself awake.

The former vampire grabs her cell phone and calls Giles. "Jiraiya, have there been any shootings at the school recently?"

"No, why?" the librarian asks sleepily. "Haku, do you know what time it is?"

"I'm sorry about the time, but I had the weirdest dream! I think it was a vision!"

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	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: the unusual. Check chapter 2.**

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At the Summer's House:

Giles and Joyce sit at the kitchen table, rifling through reports. "I was Hokage and had nothing but paperwork. I switch bodies and worlds, and I still have to deal with a load of paperwork!" grumbles Joyce loudly.

"At least it's nothing compared to Konoha's piles of papers," Giles says cheerfully, browsing through the papers some more. She shrugs indifferently. Jenny hums cheerfully in the next room, preparing eggs and bacon to help motivate the Sannin.

After a few minutes of work, Joyce puts her hand on her chin. "You know, Jiraiya, Dawn mentioned to me last week that her friends are starting to notice something's up. Owen is the only one that has a firm grasp on what is going on."

"We knew that this was coming," Giles says soothingly. "I did mention that we would be able to keep this from them, at the most, six months. It's been four months already. Do you think we should tell them what's going on?"

"I haven't decided yet!" Joyce sighs. "I hate being in charge. Why can't I just have a nice art gallery and use jutsu to make people buy paintings?"

"Because you would probably gamble away your gallery," Jenny calls from the other room.

Giles inserts quickly, "You also hate being cut out of the loop. You wouldn't be able to live with shirking your responsibilities for another forty years."

Joyce ignores her apprentice as she responds, "Let's push for the six month mark and see what happens before we let them in on our operations. They can choose at that point whether or not they want to help us. Onto a less stressful topic, has the snake showed his ugly head yet?"

"No, and I hope it stays that way," Giles states firmly, straightening his stack of papers. "I have been keeping an eye on him through the bots and through my spies. As far as I can tell, he has put Orochimaru's past behind him. He has worked very hard to prove his worth and loyalty."

"Good. Have you been able to root out the pest?"

The librarian shakes his head and cleans his glasses. "James is better at hiding than I imagined. But he has not been stirring up any trouble recently."

"No news is not good news in this case," the Hokage frowns. "He only stays off the radar when he is planning something."

"Probably, or he is just trying to stay alive," Giles replies with a smirk. "In any case, he's not an issue right now. However, Drusilla's vision is. She has had it every night for the past several days."

"Have you found anything to do with the shootings?"

"The only thing close that comes to it was something that happened at the school nearly forty years ago," Giles replies, sliding an old newspaper towards her. "A male student shot a female teacher. They never released a reason. It fits her vision's description."

Joyce frowns and calls for Jenny. Once Jenny arrives, Joyce asks, "You have more experience with the supernatural than I do. What do you think?"

Jenny thinks about it, "Well…the only thought is either the ghosts of those two are having a rematch soon or there will be a similar event with a couple there. We should give our teams within the school a heads up. We might be able to prevent anything from happening."

"Either are possible," Giles agrees. "I reached those conclusions, but there may be a few possibilities that we're overlooking. I will get back to you on that. But, Jenny is right that it is a good idea to alert our shinobi. Who should we tell first?"

Joyce thinks about it, whips out her cell phone, and sends out a single text. "We only need to tell one person."

"Who?" Giles looks at her incredulously.

Joyce smiles, "All we have to do is tell Cordelia and ask her to keep it a secret." Giles rolls his eyes but cannot argue with her. Nobody keeps a secret public knowledge like Cordelia!

At Sunnydale High School:

Willow, Harmony, Kendra, Faith, Amy, and Buffy stand around Cordelia as she chatters excitedly. "Okay, but you didn't hear that from me!" she exclaims. Kendra cocks her head in confusion but Buffy shakes her head when she opens her mouth to comment.

Faith mutters under her breath, "I left Boston to get away from girls like this. Noisy gossips." The snake in her coat sleeve hisses in agreement. Both have a headache from the noisy weapons' master.

Harmony shakes her head emphatically to what Cordelia said. "I won't tell anyone about it!" She thinks, 'Except maybe Xander, Angel, or Oz…'

Elsewhere in the High School:

Tara walks through the hallway, her eyes darting around quickly and her body tense. "Hey!" a voice shouts, making her jump and put her hand on a small concealed blade under her shirt. Andrew slaps her on the back cheerfully, "How are you doing, Tara? Is it just me or do we never hang out?"

Tara glances at him and takes her hand off the knife. "What do you want, Andrew?"

"Nothing. We have history together next and I figured that we could try getting to know each other a little better. It would help teamwork in general," he explains. "Plus, you always seem to be by yourself. Don't be so standoffish!"

Tara glares at him, "No. I am Anbu and you are a Genin. Unless ordered by Lady Joyce, that's not going to happen."

"Is that why you're so uptight? Because you're Anbu? Sheesh! Not even Angel is as uptight as you are," Andrew sighs dramatically. "What's your problem?"

She stops walking and turns to face him angrily. "I shouldn't be here! I should be out protecting Lady Joyce, not going to an American Academy! I already finished my education. I have no need for this waste of time!"

"Um…it's kind of required by law," Andrew says with a tilted head.

"Not my problem!" she huffs.

Andrew smirks, "I know that you're Anbu and all, but aren't you getting the Yagao and Tara lives kind of mixed up?" She glares at him harder. "That's your choice, but I doubt it's healthy!" He puts his hands behind his head and slowly walks away, listening for the sound of incoming shuriken just in case.

The shuriken never come and she catches up to him. "Fine. I'm Tara. I'm sorry for being rude. I am not good with…people. I didn't have much of a life before Halloween and being Yagao is a lot easier than being me."

"That's okay!" Andrew grins, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "We will work through it together!"

She shoves off his arm and states icily, "I'm not that sorry. I will talk to you. But if you touch me again, I will cut off your arm." He jumps away and shivers.

"Creeepy," he whines. She opens her mouth to argue when he points ahead of them. "Hey, I didn't know guns were allowed at school."

Tara frowns, "They aren't." A young man is calling out to a girl who is just standing there in fear. He raises the gun. Tara dashes forward, jumping off the wall and spin kicking the gun out of his hand. She sweeps his feet out from under him with a kick and slams his head into the ground with her hand in one smooth motion. Andrew watches and just tilts his head a little.

"Cool."

Tara looks around for the gun, but it is nowhere to be seen. She glares down at the young man. He says slowly as he rubs his head, "What just happened? I was on my way to class when I suddenly blacked out." The girl that he was pointing the gun at looks just as confused as he does.

Andrew says idly, "Is this what we were told to watch out for? The gun disappeared when it hit the ground."

Tara instantly flips open her phone. "Yes." She hits the only number on her speed dial. Joyce's phone rings. The young Anbu states, "Lady Tsunade, we have a situation."

At Library after School:

Joyce sighs, downing her large jug of "accidentally" fermented apple juice before getting back to the thick dusty book in front of her on ghosts. Giles is next to her searching through his own pile of books, sneaking a swig of his own from the same jug when she isn't looking. "You seem to be enjoying this, Jiraiya," she groans.

He shrugs, "I'm a Watcher and a Librarian. It's my job."

Jenny and Willow are facing each other nearby on the computers as they search the web for any information on the event and hauntings.

Angel and Tara are watching the doors and making sure that the research is not interrupted. Angel is reading a Tom Clancy novel while Tara watches him suspiciously, glancing over his shoulder from time to time.

Giles closes his book and gathers the group together. "The ghosts are here because of unresolved issues between them, from what we can gather. Unless we can resolve things, they will keep possessing people in the area and reinacting their last moments," Giles explains.

Tara crosses her arms, "How do we stop them?"

Jenny sits on the table, "With most ghosts we could communicate with them and find a solution, but these ones are too localized to a specific event. They are going in repeat. They can't be communicated with."

Angel tilts his head, "I don't see how that helps us. What should we do?"

"We want to resolve the situation without killing the ghosts, right?" asks Angel. When Giles nods, he continues, "Then we want to do it without destroying them."

Jenny answers, "The only way I can think of is for them to possess people that can survive a gunshot wound or have protection against possession."

Joyce smiles, "We do have a certain knucklehead who has a certain fox inside of him."

"And the other Jinchuuriki," Giles reminds her. "Two of them could do it."

Tara inserts, "I have seen them in action. Oz's sand could stop the bullet while the other ghost, obviously a female, would be Kendra. As a former Slayer, she can handle it. The beasts are caged. They could stop the possession without killing the ghosts."

"Call Oz and Kendra. We have a job for them this weekend," Joyce smiles.

That Saturday Outside the School:

Oz and Kendra are sitting on the school steps meditating. Inside their mindscapes, they are having interesting conversations with their residents. Oz stares up at Shukaku and states in a monotone voice, "No eating. Just make sure they don't become permanent guests." The raccoon demon laughs and assures him that he has nothing to worry about. The cat demon does the same but Kendra has an odd feeling that they are hiding something from her.

The Sannin are waiting outside the building with Tara and Angel to see how it turns out. As the Jinchuuriki nears the school, a swarm of locusts surrounds the building, effectively keeping out any more intruders from interfering, if the intruders were ordinary humans at least. Kendra looks around at the locusts, "I hope this doesn't take long."

"It shouldn't," Oz deadpans. "It's just a quick mission. In and out." The spaced around them warps and they find themselves in the hallway where the ghosts first appeared.

Kendra smirks, "That was convenient. Alright, dead people. We are here. Let's get this over with." The two ghosts merge with the waiting bodies, making them jerk slightly upon entry. A gun appears in Kendra's hand as she stares across the hall at Oz.

"Don't walk away from me!" shouts Kendra as she raises the gun. Oz looks frightened and takes a few steps back. "I loved you and this is how you repay me?" Oz lets out a frightened sob, backing away more. The gun goes off, his sand instantly shooting up to stop it. It barely touches his nose as it stops before it drops to the ground. Kendra drops the gun in horror and cries, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to shoot at you! I love you, no matter what." Kendra runs up to him and embraces him.

Oz smiles and whispers, "It's okay. I love you too." They close their eyes and press their lips together gently for a tender kiss. The ghosts dissipate into nothingness. The two try to separate but can't seem to move their bodies. They glance down to see brown and blue demonic energy intertwining around their bodies. Oz shouts mentally, "Let us go!"

Shukaku ignores him, sitting at a table with a pin striped suit on across from a lovely neko woman. "Hey, babe. Come here often?"

She bats her eyes and smiles, "I do now." The two shout loud enough to interrupt and they sigh dramatically, allowing the scene to end and their bodies to move apart.

Kendra blushes badly, "I am so sorry! I had no idea she would do that."

"Same here!" Oz says, too shocked and embarrassed to wipe his lips. "Let's not tell anyone about this, okay?" They hear applause from nearby.

Giles shouts from down the hall, "Thatta' boy! You get the girl!" He gives her a thumbs up and a grin, before being slammed into the floor by Joyce.

Shukaku grins in Oz's mindscape at the young man. "Why did I do it you ask? Do you have any idea how boring it gets in here? Besides…Nibi and I go wayyy back. That sly feline."

Oz deadpans, "Don't tell me. I don't want to know." He turns and walks out of his mindscape, slamming the door behind him as the raccoon begins his history lesson.

Kendra is too busy blushing and hiding her face while some rather…Jiraiya-like thoughts crosses her mind…to respond. Joyce looks at them with a smirk of her own, "Don't enjoy yourselves too much. You're still on duty. What you do after hours is none of my business."

Kendra spouts, "But it wasn't us! It was Nibi and Shukaku!"

Joyce starts walking away and calls over her shoulder, "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Kendra, still completely red faced, whines, "Why doesn't anybody believe me?"

Angel solemnly walks up to the couple and puts a hand on their shoulders. "As your mentor, I must give you my advice." He gives them both a thumbs up and grins, "Good luck! I can't wait to see what kind of kids you guys turn out in the future!" He disappears in a swirl of leaves. Tara shrugs and follows suit. Kendra is too in shock to do anything but stare blankly.

Oz glances at her, blushing slightly, "Would it be that bad to go out with me?"

Kendra glances back at him shyly, "Maybe…I have never had a boyfriend."

"Sunday night?" Oz suggests. "I make a mean hamburger helper."

Kendra stares at her feet, "I'll think about it." She breaks into a run out of the building.

Oz smiles alittle, "Odd situation, but she didn't say no." He walks out the opposite door with a slight skip to his step.

Omake:

Larry walks along with his beautiful lady friend as the spirits possess them both. The woman stands silently, while he recites the age-old lines of heartbreak and betrayal. A gun appears in his hand and he shoots her. As the ghosts disappear into the afterlife, the woman collapses and Larry rushes to her side. "No! No! This is okay. You'll be all right!" He lifts her up and cradles her head in his arms.

"Um…Larry, isn't that your puppet?" Amy inquires from nearby.

He shouts with tears in his eyes, "Shut up! She will never be the same! I was forced to shoot her! How can I ever work on her again with a clear conscience!" He weeps loudly and holds her more.

Amy sweatdrops. "I've heard stories about this kind of thing. He's only missing the green jumpsuit." The other students watch on sadly at the heartbroken young man, losing the one woman who would keep him company…until tomorrow.

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	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: See chapter 1**

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At Sunnydale's Beach:

Teenagers are partying on the beach, gathering around bonfires and having fun. Oz and Kendra look across the fire at each other from their seats. "This is the first party I have ever been to," the former Slayer says.

Oz shrugs, "Not my first, but I am usually playing my guitar instead of sitting around a fire with a friend."

"Interesting," Kendra nods. An unfamiliar guy walks by, but Oz brushes it off when he feels unusual chakra being used around the stranger.

Oz sets his gourd on the ground, letting the sand leak out into the beach. "Which Jonin is here?"

"Kakashi, from the feel of it," Kendra replies with a slight smile. "You felt it too? Not bad." Oz shrugs slightly and smirks.

Angel walks by dressed as a teenager. He sniffs the air and glances at a young man who is flirting with someone. The boy smells distinctly fishy. Probably tuna. He dismisses it as the boy's late dinner and continues through the crowd, observing them carefully.

Angel sneaks up behind his favorite Slayer and wraps his arms around her. "Hey, Beautiful! Come here often?" She jumps and he can feel her getting ready to throw him headfirst into the ocean, before she pauses long enough to see who it is.

"Don't scare me like that!" she exclaims, nudging him in the ribs. Willow giggles and rolls her eyes at the couple.

Willow says, "I think I'll leave you two alone. I believe there is an Uchiha here to stalk." This time it is Buffy's turn to roll her eyes at her open admittance of her activities. The redhead strolls away, spying out the crowd for her 'beloved'. As she looks, she sees a guy approaching Faith. What an idiot. She continues on.

Faith listens to the guy as he tries to brag on himself and impress her. "Dude, get lost. I'm not interested," she states coldly.

He declares, "Do you know who I am? I'm the number one swimmer on Sunnydale's Swim Team!"

"Yeah, I've been hearing about it all night. What about it?" she raises an eyebrow. He sputters and gets red faced at her complete apathy. While he is thinking about how to reply, she adds, "You don't stand a chance with me, kid. Besides, you smell funny. I don't date funny smelling guys."

He sniffs his shoulder and replies proudly, "I do not smell funny, unless you're talking about my manly cologne! And kid? We're the same age!"

Faith looks almost sorry for the swimmer. She leans forward. He starts to close his eyes, waiting for the kiss that he obviously deserves, or thinks he does, when he hears, "Same age physically, maybe. But as for mentally, you're still wearing pull-ups." She pats his cheek pityingly and turns to walk away. His face goes completely red and he raises his hand to slap her. She senses a spike of weird chakra from the boy and spins, catching the hand easily. She stares at him for a long moment. Unusual chakra, but from this lowlife?

He jerks his hand away and struts off indignantly. She smirks, "Boys. They'll never learn. Hey! I bet Kakashi is bored." An evil grin grows on her face as she goes to torment her favorite Jonin and his pet Slayer.

Faith finally spots them and sneaks forward, a snake-like grin on her face. Oz notices it and holds up his hand around his eyes so that he cannot see what she is doing as he and Kendra talk.

Faith gets closer and is about to pounce on the loving Slayer/Kakashi combo when a blood-curdling scream interrupts her from the darkness near the water. She growls under her breath at her fun being ruined before running with the other teenagers to find out what happened.

The dark-haired Special Jonin arrives on the scene, only to find that her yellow-haired teammate beat her there. "Looks like Dodd got eaten," Andrew says without remorse in his voice. "He was a really big jerk, but he didn't deserve that."

Faith gives him a look, "That's up for debate." She looks down at the carnage when something looks wrong. "Is it just me, or does it look like a snake that shed its skin?"

Jonathan says as he walks up behind her, "Possible, but humans don't shed their skin."

Faith grins at him, "I knew he was a demon! Can I go slay him now?"

"No."

"Just a little?"

"No."

She pouts, "Party pooper." Angel arrives on the scene. "Jonathan, can you see anything in the water that might have done this?"  
He slowly turns to face the Jonin with his Byakugan blazing. "Something is, but it's getting too far away for me to track."

"Faith, get a sample back to the Hokage," Angel orders. "We need to get to the bottom of this before the incompetent police arrive."  
She nods and pins a piece of shredded hand with a wired knife, yanking it into her sleeve with a flick of her wrist. The ninja disperse with the exception of Oz and Kendra. As the others melt into the darkness, Oz tilts his head and extends his senses through the beach's sand to make sure that nothing else is coming to shore to cause trouble.

He nods to Kendra and they melt into the darkness. Of course, if anyone at the party thought that they saw them disappear while holding hands, the couple would fervently deny all such claims.

Summer House Basement:

Joyce peers through a microscope at the piece of skin. "This is bizarre! I haven't seen anything like this in all my years of medicinal practice!" she exclaims, one eye closed to see it clearer. Jenny clears her throat nearby. "Well, Tsunade's years, but I've still never seen anything like it."

Joyce moves back, crossing her arms over her green robe thoughtfully, while Jenny leans in for a look. "The cell structure seems to  
look like a fish," Jenny says to her. "I've never seen anything like it either. I could be wrong, but it seems to have some human cells.  
They can't get that from eating humans."

"That's what I thought too," Joyce frowns. "We'll break down what this is made of and get some idea of what it is."

Warren steps out of the shadows and cracks his knuckles. "This is where I come in. Let's see what we got here!" A serpentine grin slithers onto his face.

Next Day in Sunnydale High:

Kendra is pulling books out of her locker. She drops the books into her bag and her locker door is slammed for her. Cameron stands there smugly. "Hey there, babe. I've had my eye on you for awhile—"

"I've noticed," she snaps. "Do not call me 'babe'."

He continues unperturbed, "and I think it's time you went out with a real man! You could be one of the most popular girls in school, along with the luckiest, if you went out with me. So, babe, how about it?"

"No."

He frowns and puts his arms on either side of her, "Listen here! I'm trying to help you out here. You just need to experience a real man!"

"When I see one, I'll let you know. You have five seconds to remove yourself from my presence before I castrate you," she states solemnly. A little bit of killer intent leaks out. He feels an unusual fear welling up inside of him, but he decides to persevere! He opens his mouth to say something when an aura of pure evil surrounds him. He feels someone tapping on his shoulder. The evil is so thick that he can barely breath. Cameron turns around slowly to come face to face with a very large brown hand. It connects, bouncing his head off of the locker and sending him sprawling onto the floor. Oz stands over him, the sand hand retracting back into his oversized backpack/duffle bag.

He growls in a deep, almost demonic voice, "The lady said no. Touch her again and mother will have your blood!"

Kendra smiles sweetly and takes his arm. Looking down at the fallen swimteam member, she says cheerfully, "I told you when I found a real man, right? Found one!" She leads Oz away with a very smug look on her face. People clear the path. Probably because of the odd grin of a homicidal maniac on Oz's face.

Principal Snyder pushes his way through the crowd towards the couple. "Hey, you ruffians! What do you think you're doing to the head of the swim team? Get over here!" Oz and Kendra look over their shoulders simultaneously with an odd shadow over their eyes and homicidal grins on their faces. "Yes, Principal Snyder?" they chorus in demonic voices. He opens his mouth and does the only thing possible for a man in his position! He wets his pants, loses the ability to speak above a mumble, and loses himself in the crowd.

The Jinchuriki stalk forward silently down the hall. The same hallway that was a moment before bustling with noisy students is now completely empty. The locker doors bulge from the students voluntarily crammed into them. The couple walks forward, looking straight ahead. Halfway down the hall, they stop and turn their heads to the right simultaneously with those evil grins. A yellow-haired young man, who is standing in front of a pile of people hiding behind him in his locker that has two strange seals on the inside corners of it (It's bigger on the inside), gives them a matching grin with two thumbs up. They roll their eyes and keep walking. Several people pass out from their evil presence, toppling out of their lockers in the couple's wake.

Later that Day:

Cameron gets out of the swim team's relaxing steam room to help his bruised body feel better. He gets his clothes on and heads for the cafeteria for a bite to eat.

Larry walks down the hallway with two girls under his arms. He senses something wrong with Cameron. A menacing aura reeks off of the swimmer. Larry frowns and follows him into the cafeteria. Cameron leans against a table suddenly and screams in agonizing pain. He claws at his arms and face, ripping them off easily and showing green scaly skin.

The girl under Larry's left arm leaps into the air and shreds her clothing to reveal his Ant puppet. The ninja puppet lands behind it, trapping it inside easily. Blades pop out just enough to knick the creature. The creature stops trying to escape and passes out. Larry walks up to the puppet and kicks it to make sure that the creature is out cold. "I don't know what you are, little buddy, but it looks like you are going to have a little chat with my boss. Orochimaru is going to be happy with this. Tsunade, not so much."

He lifts the loaded puppet onto his back with ease and shushins into the library. The librarian and Jenny Calendar look up from the books they are looking over. Larry glances at them and drops his puppet onto the ground with a loud thunk. "We have a problem." He pops open the hatch and a green creature that looks like the monster from the Black Lagoon topples out unconscious. "That was Cameron. If this is what happened to the last guy too, we need to round up the swim team before they all become sushi. Especially if Zabuza gets word of this."

Giles picks up a walkie talkie from under the table and says with annoyance, "Orochimaru, round up the swim team please, and no experimenting before dropping them off. Don't get Zabuza or Haku involved. The swim team wouldn't make it back alive if they changed into monsters in transit."

Warren says over the radio, "Very interesting!"

"We already have a live specimen for you to study, with supervision of course," Giles replies calmly.

Warren responds, "Ah, you take all of the fun out of life. Oh well. I will drop them off shortly. I've been wanting to round up those losers for years."

"Enlist whoever you want, just not those two. We need this done fast before they all change into monsters," Jenny adds.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it. Anko and Naruto are on it. Since Anko was stalking Kakashi again, he's helping too. We'll be there within the hour. Orochimaru, out."

Larry looks around awkwardly. "Where do I put this guy?"

"Just toss him in the cage. We'll deal with him when Warren arrives," Giles says flippantly. "Just another day on the Hellmouth. Now, Jenny, I still think this paper is worth a B."

"It's at least a B+," Jenny argues stubbornly.

Around Sunnydale:

Location A: The swimmer Gage Petronzi strolls down the street. He notices a very hot girl in a nearby alley gesturing to him. She looks familiar, but the darkness clouds everything but the important features. He steps into the alley and she grins. "Hello, Gage. We're going for a little trip to the library."

"You're that girl from school!" he exclaims. "What's going on?"

She giggles evilly, "We'll see soon." Serpents shoot from her sleeves and wrap around him as he screams.

Location B: A young man pauses at a stop sign on his way out of town when the car door is yanked open and the boy is pulled out. Angel chops him on the neck once and drags him down the road, his eyes never leaving the small orange book in his hand. The only sound on the road is the car rolling into the ditch and perverted giggling as he reads.

Location C: A swimmer steps out of his shower in his bathroom and wraps a towel around him. He uses a small washcloth to wipe the fogged up mirror. Orochimaru stares at him through the mirror and grins. The boy screams for about five seconds. Three minutes later he is clothed and unconscious.

A boy walks through the park when he hears some running footsteps behind him. He turns around and sees an army of orange and blonde chasing him. "Gotcha!" they all yell as they tackle him.

Five minutes later, he is dropped onto the rest of the unconscious swimmers on the library floor.

"If they turn into Mr. Ugly over there in the cage, I almost wish they would turn," Faith grumbles. "This was boring."

Joyce sighs and shakes her head. She downs a large wine bottle and wipes her mouth on her sleeve. "Alright. Let's get started. Orochimaru, secure them and keep them unconscious. We need to find out if or when they'll turn into whatever Cameron is." He nods and snakes slide up from the floor and carry them to the wall and secure the arms and legs. Giles places a paper seal on each of their foreheads to keep them asleep.

"Ready when you are, Tsunade," calls Giles over his shoulder. She nods and rolls up her sleeves.

Jenny swipes the bottle from Mrs. Summers and takes a sniff. "Where did you get this?" she frowns down at her.

Joyce smirks, "A woman's got to have her secrets." She pulls another bottle out of her sleeve, downs it, and gets ready to work. Jenny sighs and collects the second bottle out of sheer habit.

A Few Hours Later:

The Sannin sit around the table with their apprentices discussing their finds. Warren looks around at everyone present, "There is a genetic similarity in each of the swim team members. It looks like they are mutating into our guest in the cage. Whatever is happening to them is no accident. According to their blood work, if we start now, we can reverse most of the effects on the non-scaly ones."

"If they are turning into aquatic creatures, it makes sense that whoever is doing this to them is trying to cheat when it comes to swimming competitions. It's a drug," Joyce states as she flips through her medical sheets. "Who would have access to that kind of drug?"

Giles leans back in his chair and thinks, "It would have to be someone older with connections. I will have to check around."  
Larry comments from the side, "They've been winning a lot more this year. If they're being changed, the nurse and coach would have to be paid off at the least to cover it up."

Jenny frowns, "Coming from the background that I do have, I have noticed that the coach is ex-military. I went through his records while Warren and Joyce compared the blood work. He has the connections and there are notes put in by the other teachers that he has been getting more and more frustrated with the swim team's losses in recent years."

Angel sits at a nearby table reading a book. He inserts calmly, "I could always interrogate him with a genjutsu. We also have a Yamanaka at our disposal. Harmony can mind walk to an extent."

Giles objects, "She does not have the experience! Ino needs further training before attempting that."

"She needs to get experience sometime," Jenny answers, eyeing him suspiciously. "Besides, this should be a piece of cake to do to a normal human. If she is in any danger, we pull her out. All missions carry their risks. She knew what she was signing up for when she volunteered to join our ranks."

The librarian crosses his arms and leans on the table. "Ino Yamanaka, Neji Hyuga, and Kakashi will be responsible for capturing and interrogating him. We will deal with the team." The other Sannin nod in acceptance of his decision.

Joyce snatches a bottle from Jenny's arms when she isn't ready and takes another swig. Wiping her lips, she says, "Sakura, Shizune, and Hinata will assist myself and Orochimaru in the tests. They are being trained to be able to be medical nin and need the experience too." Warren and Giles nod in agreement.

Jenny yanks the bottle back into her own hand with a barely visible ninja wire wrapped around the bottle's neck. "Who is going to be responsible for the students' disappearance during school? This many students' being absent or home sick at once is noticeable."  
Giles stretches his fingers and cracks his knuckles. He grins, "Leave the Principal to me. He won't cause a fuss. I think that Amy and Faith will accompany me to pay him a visit."

Joyce thinks about it, "I have a feeling that we're missing something…Tara." She appears next to her on bowed knee.

"Yes, Lady Joyce?" she says respectfully.

Joyce smiles, "Abduct the nurse please. If she has any co-conspirators that are helping with the cover up in the area when you find her, bring them along."

"Of course," Tara answers. She stands and quickly walks out the door, removing her Anbu mask and casting a henge over her uniform as she does. As she passes through the library double doors, Drusilla falls into line beside her with full uniform and mask. "I was given this mission. Go away," she grunts.

Drusilla giggles, "Sorry, but Master Spike has told me to keep tabs on you. You're stuck with me." Tara growls but, without destroying the school, she can't get rid of her.

In Snyder's Office the Next Day:

Snyder is filing out paperwork at his desk. Someone knocks on the door. He shouts, "Come in!"

The three ninja file into the room. "Not now, Rupert. I don't care what kind of trouble Summers has gotten into! I am not going to go lenient!" Snyder snaps.

Giles smiles calmly and gestures for Amy and Faith to sit. They sit down in front of Snyder with matching evil smiles on their face. The principal looks back and forth between them uneasily. "What do you want?"

"I am going to say this once and we are going to remain civil," Giles explains. He places a small pile of papers on the desk. "These are the names of the students and teachers who are going on a long distance field trip. There is no definite time that they are coming back. The parents have gotten notes with your signatures on them, and you are going to ignore their absences. Are we clear?" Snyder opens his mouth to yell at him when he notices a large python sliding out of Faith's shirt and slithering over her shoulders. It hisses at him and seems to be licking its lips. He looks over at Amy and can sense an ominous presence behind her.

He looks back at Giles who is still completely calm. Giles smiles, "If there are any complaints, talk to my assistants in charge of dealing with complaints. He gestures to the two girls in front of him. Snyder gulps.

They file out. As Amy closes the door behind them, she pauses and stares at the principal for a long moment. She lets out a mad giggle and slams it shut. Snyder lets out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

* * *

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	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. **

* * *

In the Basement of Angel's Mansion:

Angel sighs and covers his Sharingan with his headband. The nurse leans over in the chains unconscious, her hands shackled above her head. The coach is tied up in a similar fashion and gagged beside her. His face is red with anger. Tara and Drusilla stand behind him with their arms folded. "That nurse was too easy to crack," complains Drusilla. "No fun at all."

"We didn't even need the coach," states Tara.

Angel replies solemnly, "It stops him from raising a fuss over the swim team disappearing and makes our cover story more believable. Relax. Tara, report to the Hokage." He pulls a small vial out of the coach's jacket. "Have the others analyze this. We need to find an antidote." She takes the vial and leaves.

Drusilla moves closer to him and wraps her arms around his waist from behind, looking over his shoulder at the coach. "What are we going to do with the man, daddy?"

He absently pats her hand and replies, "I will leave that to Lady Tsunade to decide. If I had my way, we should feed him to his fish."

"Sounds good to me," smiles the dark haired woman demurely. "We could always say that he escaped and fell to his fish before we could catch him again. He did have military training, after all. We weren't ready for it."

Angel frowns, "I wish we could, but we're ninja. Tsunade wouldn't ever believe us. Jiraiya would punish us and Orochimaru would reward us. Two against one. Not in our favor."

She releases him and backs away. "As you wish. If you change your mind, you know where to find me. I want him dead." She disappears into the shadows. The coach watches the exchange fearfully.

Angel glances over his shoulder, "Want to take over, Ino?"

Harmony says loudly, "It's about time!" She finishes painting her nails and puts the bottle away.

Jonathan looks up from his book, "Don't go too hard on him. I don't want to have to carry his corpse back to Tsunade."

Rolling her eyes, she strolls up to the coach with a smile that makes the coach nervous. He squints his eyes. Isn't that girl a cheerleader? She looks into his eyes and runs through a series of hand signs. She puts her hand on his forehead and whispers, "Relax, Neji. This shouldn't take long. He's just a civilian."

Everything goes black.

In the Summers' Kitchen:

Warren peers through a microscope at the liquid serum. "Interesting," he coos as he intensifies magnification. "Crude but it has great potential." Jenny clears her throat beside him, prompting him to smirk, "It was originally a military experimental drug. I will find safe enough uses for it. If we gave it to our resident Missing Nin, we could make a handsome profit on the black market. We just control who we sell it to." Jenny scowls at the idea while Joyce has dollar signs in her eyes and rubs her hands together. Jenny clears her throat again, causing Joyce to look serious and disapproving.

"Money isn't the object here," Jenny firmly answers.

Warren sighs, "Moving on, Orochimaru did research similar to this drug in the past. I have some experience with it."

"Can you change the two mutants back?" Joyce asks as she leans on the table.

"It will take time, probably a month," Warren says slowly. "I am pretty sure I can reverse most of the effects, but the change is complete. They will never be completely normal again. They will have scales in certain places, I would guess for starters. I have no way of predicting for sure how much we can fix."

Joyce nods. "Gather whatever equipment you need through Jiraiya or the Missing Nin and keep me informed." He nods with a smile.

Warren continues, "However, for those that haven't changed, we can reverse the changes before they go fishy. That should take about two weeks. They will have improvements genetically though. The swim team will be faster swimmers, stronger, thicker skinned, and much more comfortable in the water. Their breath holding capacity is going to be inhuman to say the least. They also have their chakra networks supercharged, compared to normal high school students."

Jenny frowns and crosses her arms, "While recruiting new blood is good for the group, the situation that we're accustomed to have changed. I just realized it myself, but nobody seems to think of the consequences of our recruitments." She immediately has the Sannin's complete attention. "The kids from this school weren't raised by a village to be loyal or do what's right with their training. They are just every day high school students with their own plans and ambitions in life. Who is to say that they will remain loyal to us or use their skills wisely?"

Joyce frowns while Warrens shrugs. The snake-like boy responds, "If they go south, we put them down like regular missing nin. It shouldn't be a problem. Sure they're kids, but so are we. If they cannot be trusted initially for training, we just put seals on them to prevent any chakra based abilities to be used and let them live their lives."

"And if vampires get to them? We do not need more ninja-trained vampires. James is enough of a headache without adding to it," Jenny counters.

Warren smiles pleasantly, "Than Temari and Yugito are very well trained on how to deal with vampires and ninjas. If you want, I can put seals on recruits that will blast their heads off should things go south."

Joyce sighs, "I do not like this at all, but it may prove necessary. At the least, we can put seals on them to paralyze them until we can deal with them or track them."

"Tracking seals are more reasonable," Jenny agrees. "Only the active troublemakers should be equipped with the stun seals."

"It's settled them," Warren says, leaning back in his chair. "I'll relay all relevant data to Jiraiya. He had similar thoughts when I brought it up with him."

Joyce interjects, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves! Before we go around putting seals on people, we have something else to consider." The other two pause to listen. "We can give them aptitude tests, under the guise of school assignments. They will show whether or not they have the mentality and maturity needed to be ninja. If they pass those, show an interest in our world once they catch a glimpse of it, and we decide to recruit them, then and only then will we start handing out seals."

Warren shrugs, "As you wish. Simple enough solution, I suppose."

The Next Day:

The three Sanin stand in front of the unconscious coach. "I think we should drop him off to a prison," Tsunade says. "He will be out of our hair."

"But it would raise too many questions," Jiraiya inserts. "We should feed him to the snakes. Ino says he was planning on feeding the nurse to the fishboys soon because she was complaining too much. It would be fitting."

Orochimaru coos, "Too messy and it sets a bad precedent. Perhaps we should drive him insane and throw him to an asylum." Both look at him curiously. "What? It would be simple enough. Just give me and Tayuya a night with him. He will be ready for transport by morning."

Jiraiya nods, "Doable, but we need Tayuya getting enough sleep for school the next day. She gets grouchy when she stays out too late."

Tsunade answers, "True. Her getting grouchy usually leads to Doki in biology class and extensive flute recitals for the undead later."

"She'll sleep well. It won't take long for us to break him," Orochimaru reassures them. "Are we agreed?" They nod. "I will go fetch her." He steps into the shadows and melts away.

That Night:

The coach looks around slowly. He has a bright light on him in the middle of a dark room. He is bound tightly to a chair. He struggles but to no avail. "Where am I? This is illegal, you know! Kidnapping!" He struggles more.

A voice says from behind him, "Illegal? Let's not be a hypocrite, Coach. We're going to drive you insane and that will be the end of it."

"How? Some sort of drug?" he shouts over his shoulder.

"Not at all," a woman's voice says from the darkness in front of him. "Tell me, how did you get here? How long have you been here?" He thinks and tries to remember. His memory is hazy at best. "Where are you?" the voice continues. Again, nothing can be remembered. He finally notices the gentle, distant sound of a flute going on.

"Where's the sound coming from?" the coach demands.

The voice behind him hisses, "Nearby. Don't look down." Of course, the coach looks down. The floor drops out from beneath him into a lake of boiling lava. The ropes unravel as the chair falls, barely catching his foot. He can feel the heat. Suddenly, his hands are yanked out and held there by an invisible force. He watches as his arms start to slowly bubble and melt into the lava below. For the first time in his life, he lets out a scream of sheer terror.

One Day Later At an Insane Asylum in Wisconsin:

The nurse opens the door. She had heard someone knocking quite urgently. She looks down to see a blubbering middle-aged man with a note on his shirt. He is drooling and mumbling incoherently. He twitches uncontrollably. She carefully takes the note and reads: Please take care of the lunatic for us. Thanks!" In the distance, Jiraiya is driving away into the sunset with a smile.

Next Day Outside of Sunnydale:

Giles is driving down the highway when he notices a beautiful blonde woman leaning over the smoking hood of her car. The name Daisy Duke comes to mind when he sees her very short denim shorts and tight shirt. Being the gentleman that he and Jiraiya both are, he pulls over immediately.

She hurries over to him, "Can you help me? My car was running fine when the engine just started smoking and stopped working!"

"Of course, ma'am," he smiles charmingly. "I know all there is to know about cars." He leans down into the hood to get a clear look, though it takes more focus than is necessary for the Swamp Jutsu to keep his eyes on the engine instead of its owner. She leans over the engine with him, her low neckline giving him a good view. He whistles an old tune as he follows the smoke to its source. He yanks a smoke bomb out that was taped on the side of the engine. "What the…" he begins to say before the effects of the gas hit him like a ton of bricks. He collapses in a heap. She deactivates the gas. The gills on the girl's palms fade as she starts breathing through her mouth again. Demons rush from the desert, pick up the librarian, and carry him back into the desert. Two demons put a body they had brought with them in the car, then hurry off after the others. A demon or two stay behind to pour gasoline all over Giles' car.

The beautiful woman gets back into her car and drives away. The demons still at the site light the car on fire and hurry back into the desert.

At the Summers' Home:

Joyce is writing a report, drinking happily without her dear apprentice to stop her. She frowns when her pencil tip breaks and her glass cup cracks down the middle simultaneously. A very bad feeling overwhelms her. She picks up her cell phone and dials. "Faith, has Giles reported in yet?"

At Giles' Car Three Hours After the Abduction:

The Sunnydale Police are on the scene…being as incompetent as usual. The wind has blown away any tracks on the sand. The car is burning and a fire truck is there to hose it down. The police redirect traffic through the other lane carefully. A dark van pulls up followed by a limousine. The van opens and three police officers enter the scene.

Flipping open her badge to the chief, the dark haired woman states, "The mayor has given us authority to take over. Take your boys home. We'll handle this."

"I want to see the paperwork before I do anything," the chief responds stubbornly.

One of the two men with her turns his head to the side, his teeth chattering madly. The other police officer behind her says, "We don't have to show you anything, mister. We're taking over the scene! Get outta here before we make you!" The woman raises her hand, making him instantly fall into silence. She nods to the limousine.

The door opens and a man in a business suit gets out, gazing out across the scene. "There's our authority. Now leave," the woman says smugly.

The police chief instantly recognizes the man as the mayor and immediately orders his men to head out. The fire truck has just finished putting out the burning car. The police cars drive back to Sunnydale. The van and limousine shimmer to a beat up station wagon and a moving van once they are out of sight. The woman takes off her hat and her police uniform fades to simple light body armor. She turns around and smacks the loud mouth in the head. "I said let me do the talking, Kankuro!"

He quickly backs off and places the extra police officer back into its wrappings on his back. "Come on, Temari! You know it was a good line!"

Buffy retorts, "No, it wasn't."

The mayor walks up to them, shimmering back to Warren. "Stop playing around, guys. Giles didn't report in and his car was torched. Check the area and see if the police managed to leave some evidence intact of what happened here." The team instantly spreads out. Warren takes a sample of tissue from the torched body and puts it into a tube, along with a sample of blood. He takes out a chemical and drips it into the blood. When nothing happens, he frowns.

Buffy kicks the sand and shouts, "Nothing! What on earth made Giles stop in the first place? He's a Sanin! He couldn't go down easily without signs of a battle."

Warren rubs the bridge of his nose and sighs, "Knowing my old teammate, it was probably a trap set with a beautiful woman as bait. I don't know who would know his weakness. We have no living enemies aside from James, and he is obsessed with Kakashi, not Jiraiya."

Larry grins and thumbs to his puppet, "If James ever shows his face again, we will shorten the list to zero living enemies!" Buffy and Warren sigh.

Warren leans into the van and says to the driver, "Ninja Bot 2, send Tsunade a report. We found nothing that can lead us to Jiraiya. There was a body in the car, but the blood showed no reaction to my formula. If it had been him, any former chakra use would have been detected and changed color. This was a definite abduction, but there were no signs of a struggle." The bot nods and instantly sends the information to the bot at the library.

In a Secret Location:

The weathered librarian slowly lifts his head, groggily glancing around the room. The first things he notices are that he is shirtless and covered with paper tags that have Japanese writing on them. Chains keep his hands above his head and apart as an IV slowly drips a sedative into his system. Giles groans, "This is worse than a hangover."

James steps out of the shadows nearby. "Hello, Rupert Giles the Watcher. Or should I call you Jiraiya? Which name do you prefer?" Before the Sanin can answer, James continues, "I don't care. I need your help with a little something. I need to know how to open that." He points to a large statue with a sword sticking out of it. "So you're going to tell me."

Giles stares at it for a long moment, looks at James, and grunts, "You didn't happen to see a gorgeous blonde around here earlier, did you?"

James slugs him in the face and shouts, "This is not a game! Tell me what I want to know!"

Giles shakes his head to clear his thoughts and replies slowly, "Then tell me what I want to know first. Where is the gorgeous blonde?"

James is about to punch him again when he pauses. "You're serious." Giles smiles perversely. "Oh no, you are serious. This is going to take longer than I anticipated. I would ease up the drugs muddling your brain, but that is too dangerous. However, it's amazing what a large wad of cash can do in California. People will do pretty much anything for money."

Giles grins wider, "When I find her again, I'll remember that." James punches him again out of frustration.

"Is that all you think about?" James screams.

Giles thinks for a long moment and answers, "I write books too."

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**Read and Review!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: Read My Mind…and chapter 1.****  
**  
Authors note: Well one more chapter and then a chapter or two of interlude to set up the next story, introduce some new characters and for those of you wandering about what Angle show a while back, it shall be brought to light! Or maybe we'll just put it all into the end of this story, who knows. Warning though, it might be even longer now between updates, but they will come. Sorry.

**At the Library:****  
**  
Harmony strolls in and calls, "Oh, Giles! How did the trip go?" Every ninja is gathered in the room already. They all turn to her and are very quiet. She frowns and looks around for him, but she cannot find him. "Where is he?"

Joyce clears her throat and announces, "Jiraiya has been kidnapped by James on his return trip. We don't know where he is."

Harmony snaps to attention, "Ma'am, I would like permiss—"

"No," Joyce interrupts. "We have no leads, and you roughing up every demon and vampire in California won't help us find him."

"It might," Harmony snaps. "Haku, Zabuza, care to join me?"

Joyce shouts, "I forbid it!"

Harmony does not answer as she leaves the library, followed by the two former vampires. Spike has a devious look on his face while Drusilla is just smiling. Joyce sighs and turns to Faith, "Anko, make sure they don't get themselves killed."

"Yes, ma'am," grins Faith as she moves to follow them.

Joyce continues, "And don't join them in their rampage throughout the state."

"Yes, ma'am," answers Faith flippantly.

As the ninja leaves the room, Warren tells Joyce, "You just sent a snake to follow a bunch of mice into a den of food."

"I know," Joyce sighs. "But at least she'll give me a report after she finishes the massacre of the undead."

**Outside a warehouse:****  
**  
Harmony walks towards the hulking metal doors with sharpened kunai in each hand. Faith asks mischievously, "I'm curious, Ino, why are you so determined to hunt down Jiraiya?"

Harmony faces her and growls in nearly a demonic voice, "I'm not letting him off the hook that easily! He isn't going to die or get away from me until I hit 18. Then we'll talk. If he tries to get away before then, I'll just do him where he stands!" She stalks forward and smashes the door with a closed fist, creating a large indent.

Faith tilts her head and says cautiously, "Um…good display of your training with Lady Tsunade, but…it opens sideways." Ino punches it again, going through the thin metal. The look in her eyes says: And?

Vampires get up from their couches and easy chairs gathered around a small television set. The oldest of them, which isn't very old until you consider that being alive at all in Sunnydale makes you famous among the underworld, starts to laugh at the two teenagers. "Look, boys! It looks like food delivers," he laughs. The four or five other vampires join his laughter, gravitating towards the duo. They step directly under a metal-covered window that is near the roof.

Ino states, "I really wouldn't stand there if I were you." A moment later, the metal crashes to the ground with a massive sword sticking out of it. Holding onto the handle is Spike, in full bandaged attire.

"Hello, boys," Spike mimicks. "Did ya miss me?" They barely have time to scream as Spike rushes amongst them, decapitating and tearing their corpses to pieces with ease. The leader falls on his butt and shakes in fear as Spike approaches him slowly. Surrounding them are the piles of dust that was the gang. "Should I finish'im, ladies?"

Ino shouts, "No! I want to have a few words with him!" She kneels down in front of the vampire and does slow, focused hand signs.

Anko smiles with a snake slithering out of her coat sleeve. "I would stand still if I were you," she advises. "Ino is having one of those days. Don't piss her off." The vampire wets its pants, but remains on the ground shaking.

Ino places her palm on its forehead. A few seconds later, she opens her eyes and grunts, "He doesn't know anything. That's annoying." The vampire opens its mouth to beg for its life when Ino slashes its throat open. It gargles as blood pours down its neck. Spike grins at the blood but finishes it with ramming his zanpaktou through its skull and splitting his spine neatly in half. He twists the blade and yanks it out messily. The vampire explodes into flaming ash. Ino sighs and stands. "How very disappointing. Spike, take me to the biggest bads in town."

Spike laughs loudly, "I am beginning to like you, girl! Haku is way ahead of ya though."

Faith explains, "She just radioed in. She has rounded up the leader of each aspiring gang around. Other than eight vampires tied to a tree in the park with Haku guarding, there are no more vampires in Sunnydale that we know of."

Ino puts in her earpiece and listens in for a moment. "Fine," she grumbles. "I'll just have to tear apart this town brick by brick until I find him. Los Angeles is next." She storms out with her kunai in hand.

The bleach-blonde ex-vampire asks Faith, "I know she's in high school and all, but she's been fantastic since the Librarian's been kidnapped! We should have him kidnapped more often, eh?" Faith rolls her eyes and follows the Genin. Spike shrugs and wanders the lair alone to gather loot.

As Faith walks towards the park, she calls, "You can come out, Kakashi." Angel walks out from behind a tree with his nose in a book. "What do you want?"

"Just thought it might be fun to stalk you for a change," Angel responds idly. "Besides, I haven't seen you interrogate someone in ages. It'll be a nice treat." Faith responds with an evil laugh.

**At James' Hideout:****  
**  
A minion vampire runs up to James, panting heavily. The imposing, insane vampire gazes down at his minion. "What news?"

"They know! Spike and Drusilla are tearing apart Sunnydale! A blonde is leading them with a snake woman!" the minion says quickly.

James growls, "Anko...I should have known. Is the other girl the Slayer?"

"Unconfirmed, sir," the vampire says hesitantly. "This is the last word we got from the town. All of our nests were wiped out." He holds up a tape recorder and presses play.

**On the Tape:****  
**  
"Hey, you're not supposed to report for three more days! Why are you calling me?" a low voice grunts angrily.

A higher, panicked voice yells into the phone, "We're the last vampires left in Sunnydale, and we think Spike and Drusilla are on their way here!" Crashing sounds erupt from the background. "They're here! The snake woman is here too and a blonde!"

"Who? The Vampire Slayer?" the deep voice asks loudly.

"I don't know! I can't tell! Oh no!" A blood curling scream and the tearing of flesh can be heard over the receiver.

"Tom? Tom! What's happened?" the deep voice demands.

A young woman's voice comes over the receiver, "I'm coming for you next, James. I am not 18 yet and I won't let you deprive me of him until then! Stay alive, Jiraiya. See you soon." The receiver hangs up rudely.

**The Tape Ends****  
**  
James glares at the minion murderously and holds out his hand. The minion hurriedly drops the tape recorder into his hand. James growls, "Get out of my sight before you get fed to Alcaltha!" The minion runs as fast as he can out of the room.

The insane vampire giggles once he is alone and twirls the tape recorder around on his finger. He grabs it out of the air and strolls over to the wall that Giles is hanging on. "Hello, Jiraiya," he taunts. "Someone was looking for you. They'll never find you, but I am curious, who is this on the tape?" He plays the last part again.

Giles looks up groggily and says lethargically, "Sounds like a cheerleader. Any chance it's the hot chick from the car?" James growls and slugs him in the gut.

"Can't you be serious for three seconds?" James shouts at him.

Giles grunts at the blow and sighs heavily. "I probably could, but that might kill me. Why take the risk?" James backhands him angrily and stalks back to his chair. Giles laughs and spits out blood, "I'd hurry and kill me if you're going to, before She gets here to end you."

"Who is She? The Slayer?" James inquires.

Giles chuckles darkly, "Worse. Much worse than any Vampire Slayer. Slayers kill vampires. This girl is coming to make you pay." He thinks, 'Not the way I prefer to go, but if it makes me go before she turns eighteen…'

James laughs mockingly, "You're bluffing! Nobody is worse than the Slayer that could come for me, and your precious Hokage won't leave her office to come looking for you either. Neither will Orochimaru…so you are on your own!"

"That's what you think, punk," Giles snaps. "You just got in way over your head."

James grabs him by the throat and yanks him forward against the chains. He grins evilly, "Don't worry, old man. You will tell me all that I want to know…or others will die." James slams him back against the wall with a powerful punch and laughs before walking out the door.

Sounds of a battle being fought erupt from the next room a few minutes later. The room shakes and some dirt falls from the rafters. James' frantic shouting of orders makes Giles chuckle, despite the pain it causes. Flashes of light and explosions tear apart the next room. Smoke billows out of it and causes Giles to cough.

Faith strolls in and says cockily, "Did somebody call for room service?"

"Took you long enough," he grunts.

The snake kunoichi looks him over, all chained up and beaten, and says slowly, "I like what I'm seeing!" He glares at her. She shrugs, "It's not my fault you're all muscle under that stuffy shirt of yours."

Angel bursts into the room and shouts, "Jiraiya! James activated the statue! How do we stop it?"

Giles looks startled, "How did he figure it out?"

"I don't know!" Angel retorts. "Now how do we stop it? The whole world is going to hell in a handbasket, and I am not exaggerating!"

"It's his blood!" Giles shouts back. "His blood opens and closes the portal!" Everything goes dark.

James releases Giles' throat and lowers his fist when he sees that the prisoner is unconscious. "Thank you, Jiraiya. That was very helpful. My own blood? Who would've thought?" He laughs maniacally.

The insane vampire calls his minions and directs them, "Bring in the statue and set up the bleachers! Witness the end of the world free of charge! No refunds on the tickets!" The minions hurriedly bring in the statue and put it in front of Giles, then bring in concrete blocks and wooden planks to put on them for seats all set up around Giles. He is in the center of the row facing the statue with vampires on his left and right. James hops up over and pats Giles on the cheek lightly. "You get a front row seat. You can't accuse me of being a poor host!"

**Several Hours Later:****  
**  
James strolls up to his prisoner and slaps him around roughly. "Wakey wakey, old man! It's time for the show!"

Giles grunts at the slaps but wakes up. He looks around and notices the large statue nearby in front of him. "Where are Anko and Kakashi?" His mind is still cloudy.

The insane vampire laughs mockingly, "I tricked you! You wouldn't believe how long it took me to develop that genjutsu! Finding test subjects was more difficult than you would imagine with you decreasing my kind's population exponentially every single day, but I am a genius. Admit it, I'm a genius, aren't I?"

"Nope," Giles groans. "Just a lunatic." James growls and sucker punches him. "Now that wasn't very nice," the librarian grunts, spitting out blood. "And here I'd think you'd take that as a compliment."

"That was sweet of you, Jiraiya, but now is not the time!" James responds dramatically, gesturing grandly to the statue. "It is time to plunge this world into Hell itself! I am the bringer of the end! I am ending the world!"

Giles inquires, his mind getting clearer, "I have just one question for you."

"What would that be?" James answers as he puffs up his chest proudly.

"Do all bad guys monologue or just you?"

James pulls his fist back and pauses. His eyes widen, "You're trying to buy time. I see through your act. Enough waiting!" He turns around and grabs onto the hilt of the sword sticking out of the statue. He grabs onto the blade with his other hand and it slices his hand open. "Ouch!" he shouts as he yanks it out. "That really hurt!" He drops the sword on the ground and shakes his hand around, jumping around shouting in pain. Giles would laugh at the sight if a portal were not opening up in front of him.

**Above the Surface:**

"Are you sure about this?" Harmony snaps as she runs through the streets of the warehouse district.

Angel retorts, "You were there when I interrogated the last vampire. You know that the information is correct. The contact zone triangulates this as his main base."

Spike has his blade tied to his back and he runs beside them. "I hate to break it to ya, poof, but I don't see anything around here. We've already searched this area."

The ground starts rumbling beneath their feet. Harmony stops the group to look at the ground. "Seriously?"

Drusilla nods, "It looks like it."

"Under our feet the whole time?"

"Who know?" said Faith.

"Yeah, it feels like it," Drusilla sighs. "We're ninja; we really should have thought of this sooner. James is insane, not an idiot."

Harmony lifts the very heavy manhole cover off and jumps into the sewers, followed by her team.

They run down the narrow passageway to a turnoff. The rumbling gets more intense as they get closer. Two spike-skinned green demons are standing guard. Harmony stops and cracks her knuckles, "Is my man in there?" They look at each other nervously.

Spike unsheathes his sword and states, "Let the little lady through, mates, or I turn you into salad. I'm William the Bloody. Spike." They look at each other again and take off running past them down the tunnel. Spike grins, "I love it when they do that. After you, ladies." He gestures to the door. Harmony nods to him with a smile while Drusilla rewards him with a kiss.

"Wonderful, my love," Drusilla gushes.

Spike responds, "Only the best for you, my darling." Their foreheads touch as they get closer.

Angel clears his throat, "Now is not the time!" They turn with their heads still touching to glare at him. They wait for him to walk in before following him.

Drusilla's sire strolls down the hallway towards the rumbling. Vampires start coming toward him with their fangs bared. He pulls down his mask and says casually, "I'm Angelus the Demon Ninja, responsible for the near extinction of vampires in Sunnydale." They instantly let the group pass, though Spike and Drusilla stake them as they walk by with Faith bring up the rear.

They open the door and see James dancing around the room gloating and shaking his cut hand around with Giles chained to the wall. Harmony shouts, "Get away from my man, dead boys!"

Giles calls to her, "James has opened the portal to hell! Only his blood will close it!" Spike and Drusilla ignore him, slicing and beating the living crap out of the handful of vampires at their disposal. Angel sits back and watches while he decides what to do. He ops to stand near the portal, put three vampires into excruciating pain (after all, they don't need to reproduce no matter how it turns out!), and tosses them head first into the Hell Portal.

Angel looks at the fourth vampire who says quickly, "Allow me!" He dives into the portal to avoid the punishment the others got. Harmony on the other hand is beating James to a pulp. Angel marvels at the sudden speed and agility of the Genin despite all the trouble that he had with the undead rogue ninja.

As James takes punch after punch, he is yelling, "It doesn't matter what you do to me! The world will be sucked into hell! I win! I am victorious! Not even Lord Orochimaru can stop me now! Hahahaha!"

Harmony is flatly ignoring anything he is saying while she pounds him. Harmony shouts with each punch, "You kidnapped my man! Bad Move! Nobody takes away my man until I hit 18! You hear m?" Giles winces as he hears bones crunching with each blow and at her tirade; more at the tirade than at the physical damage. He thinks, 'Well…it looks like I just might survive this…hmmm…oh well. There is always the next big bad. Maybe he can stop her 18th birthday!' The Jiraiya within him is having a hayday as he listens and jots down notes for later. The stern Rupert Giles and the perverted Jiraiya play cards in his mindscape.

Jiraiya grins at his hand, "How about this than, Rupert. If you win, you go home and rest. If I win, you take this hot cheerleader out to dinner to reward her for rescuing you."

Giles smiles at his hand confidently, "You're on. I call." They lay down their hands and Giles groans pitifully.

Jiraiya grins widely, "That's the spirit, old boy! Show her a good time!"

In the outside world, the vampires are all piles of dust or in the portal except for James. About five minutes later, Harmony is tired and James has broken every bone in his body…except for maybe a toe bone. The cheerleader stomps on the last bone to remedy the situation. Harmony twirls her kunai on her finger and grinds out, "You kidnap my man, torture him, open a portal to hell, and all it takes to close it again is your blood?"

"Yes!" James shouts victoriously. "Only my blood can close it! Hahaha!"

"Oh," Harmony says with a suddenly wide smile. "You mean this blood?" She lifts his sword into the air with her foot, catches it, and slashes his throat open. Harmony finishes him off by thrusting the sword through his chest and kicking him into the portal. She shouts after him, "Go to hell and stay there!" His gurgled yell is heard before he falls to his doom and the portal snaps shut behind him.

Harmony's shoulders sag as the fatigue of the past 24 hours catches up with her. She slowly turns and stares at the rugged muscled, bloody librarian as he is taken down by Spike and Angel. She punches him in the face. "Ouch! What was that for? Don't you think I've been tortured enough?" Giles yells.

"That was for letting yourself be captured just because James sent a busty babe your way!" Harmony screams back. Angel steps away to a safe distance. "And this is for surviving!" She wraps her arms around his neck and plants a big one on him. Giles is tempted to object but reasons: She did just throw his torturer into hell itself! He kisses her back and Drusilla ahhhh's in the background.

When they part, Giles whispers, "I'm taking you out to dinner when I rest up. But you still have to wait until you're eighteen before anything happens at all."

Harmony smiles sweetly, "Don't worry, I'll nurse you back to health." Giles frowns at the thought of Jenny and Harmony both wanting to nurse him back to health.

"We'll see about that," he mutters, staring off into space with Faith laughing in the background.

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	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: read my mind…oh stop looking so scared! **

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**The Next Day:**

Giles sits up in bed bandaged from head to toe. He sighs and looks to his right, where the beautiful Jenny Calendar has her hands over his legs. Her hands radiate with a healing green glow as she smiles at him sweetly. He looks to his left to see the lovely young Harmony with a large bowl of assorted chopped fruit, trying to feed him with chopsticks. He sighs again as he thinks, 'This isn't going to end well…'

At the foot of his bed, Joyce is giggling at the scene. "You're not helping, Tsunade," grunts Giles grumpily.

"I am most certainly helping!" Joyce protests innocently. "I am helping my two adorable pupils get ahead in life."

"At my expense."

"Isn't that what Sensei's are for?" she responds cheekily. "If you would rather I not supervise the healing, than I could always leave…"

"No!" Giles practically shouts before regaining his composure. "Your expertise is needed here." He thinks, 'Don't leave me alone with these two!'

Joyce shrugs and continues to watch with amusement. "Really, you should be thanking me. Jiraiya never got this kind of cooperation from me no matter how injured he got."

Ignoring the inner protests of Jiraiya, Giles responds, "Jiraiya was never set up quite this badly."

Harmony pouts, "Is something wrong, Master Giles?" She slips a piece of strawberry into his mouth and murmurs, "Isn't it delicious?" The look in her eyes makes him nervous.

Jenny runs her hands up his leg, with them still glowing green, "Does my healing jutsu feel good, Lord Jiraiya?" He catches her hands with one of his own and smiles tensely.

"I appreciate the healing, but sometimes it's just best for nature to take its course," he says diplomatically.

Harmony leans in closer, "I couldn't agree more. You're so wise, Master Giles." He leans away from her but is stopped when he realizes that Jenny is waiting for him on the other side.

"Lady Hokage," he says quietly. "Do something. Please."

The door flies open with a loud bang! "Hey there, Pervy Sage! How's it going?"

Giles grins, "Just fine, Naruto! Get over here and have some fresh fruit. It's good for you! Ino, may he have some?"

"Anything for you, Master Giles," she says seductively. She frowns and tosses a few pieces at Andrew's head, but he ignores the intent and eats them in midair.

"So, Pervy Sage," Andrew says as he chews, "What did you call me here for?"

'Other than saving my life?' he thinks. Out loud, he says, "When I recover, we're going on a training trip around the country. It should be very educational."

Joyce smiles and leans onto the bed with both hands. "Just so you know, my dear teammate, I know that Naruto is too pure of heart to be corrupted by your antics, but if you ever corrupt Andrew, I will kill you."

"No worries, Grandma Tsunade!" Andrew says a little too loudly.

Harmony stammers, "Y-y-you're leaving? But I just got you back! Lady Tsunade! I—"

"No."

"B-but!"

"No."

"I demand—"

"No."

"If you don't let me go, I'll take him tonight!" Harmony announces. Jenny bares her teeth and literally growls. Giles sinks deeper into the covers.

Joyce smiles back, "I'll let you go. You can act as official bodyguard to Andrew."

"But that's more like babysitting duty!" Harmony protests.

Andrew says, "Yeah, and Pervy Sage is always disappearing on me. It'll be great to have a beautiful girl like you around, Ino!" She looks like she is about to be sick.

"M-maybe I'll just wait here for you guys to get back," Harmony says weakly. She gains strength as she shouts, "But you're still taking me out to dinner before you leave! And had better call me every day!"

Jenny leans in close with a demonic glint in her eye. "Dinner?" she inquires calmly. Giles starts to sweat.

Harmony grabs onto his arm possessively, "Absolutely! He is taking me to a fancy dinner followed by a long, romantic movie, ending with him dropping me off at his house, unless he has other plans. I won't object." She winks.

"I never agreed to a movie," Giles says, as he feels the killer intent radiating off of Jenny. "But…I was planning on…surprising you two with a movie! Yes, you both are going to be my dates to the movie. After all, you two are doing such a great job of nursing me back to health." He sighs in relief as the intent starts to lessen.

Joyce leans back in her chair with raised eyebrows, thinking, 'You're still very smooth. Nice.'  
**  
****A Week Later:****  
**  
They stand on the outskirts of Sunnydale with Giles' car idling. Andrew is leaning out the car window, "Let's go already!"

Jenny is there to see Giles off while Harmony is bawling loudly. Giles gives Jenny a hug and kiss goodbye. He tries to comfort Harmony, "Come on, Ino. I'll be back before school starts again. At least you got your date, right?"

**Flashback:****  
**  
Harmony and Giles sit at a candle-lit dinner with a violinist standing nearby. The waiter serves the food…with a patch over his eye. Angel says, "I would recommend the lobster, followed by a page 3, paragraph—"

"That will be all, Waiter," Giles snaps.

Harmony asks, "What was that about?"

"Nothing at all," he sighs.

Later, at the movie theater, Jenny and Harmony sit on either side of Giles, each clutching an arm possessively. They are both using kunai to stick the popcorn and feed it to their date, barely missing each other in the process. The sparks are nearly visible whenever the two women make eye contact.

Several rows back, Angel and Faith are eating a large bowl of popcorn. They are ignoring the movie and watching the drama below. "So much better than the movie," Angel whispers. "Seeing a master like Lord Jiraiya at work is inspiring!"

Faith points to the open orange book and whispers, "Page 14, paragraph 4 would be perfect." Giles can feel his ears getting red as that exact scene jumps to mind. He glances at his two dates for a long moment before shaking his head.  
**  
****End Flashback:****  
**  
Harmony nods but blows her nose on a tissue. "You have to call every single day!" she says between tears. "Every single day!"

"I will, if possible," he says soothingly. "Just stay alive until I get back." He whispers in her ear, "Keep Jenny company, will you? She's going to have a hard time with me gone too." Harmony frowns but nods in agreement. "That's a good girl." He kisses her forehead and turns to walk away, when she of course grabs him by the shirt and plants a Proper goodbye kiss on him.

Joyce walks up to him and gives a hug. He whispers, "You take care of yourself. Don't let the recruits get lazy while I'm gone."

"I won't," Joyce answers. "But if Andrew comes back anything like you, or with stories of where you took him…"

"It won't happen!" he says quickly. "I'm first and foremost Rupert Giles."

"Just like I am first and foremost Joyce Summers," she retorts evenly. "Riiight. Have a safe trip."

Andrew hits the car door, "Come on, let's go!" Giles sighs and starts packing a few farewell gifts that he just received from his…fans?

Dawn walks up to Andrew and states quietly, "Andrew…you know I see you as a big brother now, right?"

"Sure, Dawn. What's up?" Andrew asks.

"Well…Hinata really liked Naruto…I mean a lot. But that doesn't mean that I see you the same way…" Dawn says slowly.

"Yeah, and?"

"You see…" Dawn says before pausing. Very loudly she continues, "If you die out there, I will bring you back to life to kill you myself! You had better come back in one piece or else!"

He sweatdrops and nods, "Sure, Dawn. Whatever you say." He thinks, 'She has her sister's temper…kinda scary…'

Giles gives the group one last farewell wave before climbing into the vehicle and driving away.  
**  
****Two Weeks Later in L.A.:****  
**  
Spike crawls along the rooftop with his face covered in bandages. He slowly unsheathes his zanpaktou with a feral grin. He touches his neck com, "In position, luv?"

"Of course, darling," Drusilla replies from the other side of the street. "Give it a few more seconds. They might still lead us to their nest."

"If there's any nests left in this area," Spike chuckles. He looks around and frowns, "Hun, did you invite any friends to this party?"

"I thought they were yours," she replies. "Let's wait to see what happens. No need to start massacres without knowing the whole story."

Spike sighs, "As you wish."

A handful of teenagers rush from hiding places throughout the alleyway. They all carry stakes and home-made weapons, one of which is a flamethrower. The flamer instantly dusts one of the three vampires while the others surround the undead and attack at once. "Don't let them get away!" says a dark skinned young man. The vampires send a few of them flying, but they cannot dodge all of the stakes. They explode into dust.

Spike mutters from his perch, "Amateurs. Brave for facing vampires though."

Drusilla relaxes in her own perch with her hand in a sign in front of her face. "Spike, a few of these have potential. We can use them. Should we say hello?"

"Let's," Spike replies. The crew in the street are clapping each other on the back and giving high fives when a masked figure drops into their midst followed by a mummified swordsman, from their point of view. They instantly attack, but Spike slices through their weapons like they were made of warm cheese. Drusilla stands still, only her upper body moving to fluidly dodge any jabs in her direction. Spike twirls his sword above his head and brings it down suddenly to put one of crew's head in the circle in his blade. He is about to twist the head off when Drusilla clears her throat.

"Lover, we don't want a massacre," Drusilla's voice chimes out.

Spike relaxes and sheathes his blade, "You're right. I'm sorry, Dru." He turns to the terrified youth and brushes some dust off of their shoulder. "I have to apologize. When my blood gets going, nothing is more satisfying than a good bloodbath. You know how it is, right?"

The youth looks at the two newcomers and says weakly, "Um…sure? Gunn!"

The oldest of the crew, who looks barely old enough to drive, steps forward. He looks Spike in the eye, trying to look confident, and says, "Who are you and what are you doing on our turf?"

Spike sighs, "Dru, which did we spare the group for?" She smiles and points the dark skinned leader and a young woman.

"Hey!" Gunn says bluntly. "What do you want with me and my sister?" He steps in front of his sister protectively with real confidence in his eyes now.

"Well, it's like this," Spike explains. "You should come with us."

Drusilla continues, "We have a job offer that I think you will like."

A block or two away, from the side of a skyscraper, Tara stands on a window-cleaner's ledge with binoculars. "I don't like the look of this…"

**The Next Day:****  
**  
Spike and Drusilla stroll into the Library arm in arm. "Mother, we're home!" Drusilla calls out.

Joyce is waiting with Tara at her side. Angel sits on a table on her other side, shining a kunai. Joyce says casually, "A little bird told me that you picked up a few strays in L.A. When am I going to meet them?"

Drusilla hisses at Tara, "Tattle tale!"

"Criminal," Tara hisses back.

Spike ignores them and explains, "It's simple, really. There's a gang in L.A. that is fighting the growing vampire population. They're amateurs but effective. Their leader is named Gunn. He and his sister showed potential."

"Potential?" Angel inquires. "What kind of potential?"

Drusilla glares at Tara, but interjects, "My sensory abilities have been refined. I sensed they had active chakra networks that they can access, with the right training of course. If you don't believe me, bring in the crazy eyes."

Joyce states firmly, "I want to meet them and evaluate their skills for myself."

"Yes, mother," Drusilla replies with a smirk. Joyce's eye twitches but the two Mist ninja ignore it.

**Two Days Later in Gunn's Home:****  
**  
Gunn yawns and starts getting ready for the day. He rinses his face off to wake up. His sister heads downstairs and calls from the kitchen, "Gunn! Somebody wants to talk to you!"

"Who is it?" he calls back.

"The psychos brought friends!" she calls back. He immediately darts from the bathroom, down the stairs, to the kitchen. Joyce is sitting at the table eating scrambled eggs and reading a newspaper. His eyes jump around the room. Next to her at the table is a woman with visible body armor, a sword strapped to her back, and a Japanese mask covering her face. On the counter sits a dark haired man with a dark blue mask covering his mouth and nose. A headband with a metal plate on it rests over his eye as he reads a book. His sister is standing at the entrance next to him, staring at everyone with wide eyes.

Gunn refocuses on the woman eating breakfast at his table, when he realizes that her dark green robes barely do the job of keeping her clothed from the angle that he is at. She clears her throat, "My face is up here, young man." He jumps and apologizes. "I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Gunn. Please, have a seat. You too, miss." The man looks up from his book and gestures to the chairs with his chin before going back to his book.

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	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: use your imagination. Really. Try.****  
**

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**Midsummer at Carlos' House:**

Carlos lies on his bed, skipping through the channels on his television while listening to his cousin on the phone. "And the best part about Inuyasha is the boomerang weapon!" the cousin gushes.

Carlos half listens, "Uh huh. Fascinating."

"But that was nothing compared to Naruto! Oh yeah! Next time you're over, we're going to have to watch the Battle of the Valley of the End with Naruto and Sasuke! They use the Chidori and Rasengan!"

"By the End, is that where the show ends?" Carlos inquires.

"No, Carlos. That would completely suck if it ended there. Sasuke and Naruto learn even cooler jutsu later!"

Carlos frowns, "What did you just say?"

"That they learn even cooler jutsu later!" his cousin replies enthusiastically.

"Jutsu…where have I heard that before?" Carlos mutters.  
**  
****Flashback:****  
**  
The evil taskmaster Xander Harris, also known as the Devil Himself to the trainees, was talking to the sometimes masked, one eyed instructor Angel. "Do you think they're ready for the henge jutsu?"

"Not for awhile yet," Angel had replied.

**End Flashback**

"Dearest Cousin, what is a Henge Jutsu?" Carlos asks hesitantly.

His cousin answers, "That's the most basic of jutsu used by the ninjas. It superimposes an illusion on yourself to look like somebody else. Are you an anime nerd who's been holding out on me?"

"No. But I think a few people I know might be. Well, I got to get to practice. Later," Carlos sighs loudly. He hangs up and gets ready to get to training. "Why do I get déjà vu every time I go to practice after talking to my nerd cousin?"

At practice, Angel shouts, "Thirty laps around the field before we get started." The trainees groan and begin their usual thirty laps. Carlos comes around the field for the first lap and sees Angel facing away from them with a small book out. For a moment, he thinks he sees the anime character Kakashi from the pictures his cousin has shown him. The only real difference is the hair color…nah. That's impossible.

Early the Next Day:  
Angel puts a shiny blue-covered book away. "That was so good I read it twice! Jiraiya really is a genius." His cell phone rings. When he sees Buffy's name, he instinctively hides the book and answers the call. "Yes?"

"I don't have patrol tonight," Buffy says. "Are you free for a date?"

"I should be unless an emergency comes up," Angel answers. "But if that happens, neither of us will be free."

"Tell me about it," sighs Buffy. "Okay, I'll see you at the Bronze around seven tonight if all goes well."

"Alright. I'm going to be working on my jutsu," says Angel.

Buffy exclaims, "Oh, the eye one?"

"Yes. Talk to you later, love," Angel smiles. He hangs up.

Angel leaps out his window, walks towards the forested area of Sunnydale, and jumps across treetops outside of Sunnydale on his way for his training. Something catches his attention. He follows his senses to see who is using chakra nearby. He lands in a tree and sees Kitty sitting in a cross-legged meditating position with her eyes closed under a large oak tree. A tree leaf sits in each palm as she tries to focus on making them hover. He smiles slightly at her efforts and turns to continue to his training spot. Something catches his eye; he slowly turns to stare closer. Angel lifts his forehead protector and gazes with the Sharingan. "Impossible," he whispers with wide eyes.

**Five Minutes Later at the Summer's House:****  
**  
Joyce sighs at the front door, "What's the emergency, Kakashi?"

Angel breathes slightly heavier than usual and states, "You are not going to believe what I just saw!"

**A Few Minutes Later:**

Jenny, Angel, and Joyce sit around the dining room table. The Hokage is wide eyed. "Are you 100% certain that is what you saw?" Joyce asks.

Angel nods, "Yes."

Jenny inserts, "Do you know the gravity of what this means?"

Joyce snaps, "Of course I do! If she's doing that, we're going to have to tell them today." She looks off into the distance.

"Are you okay, Lady Hokage?" Angel inquires with a frown.

Joyce sighs, opening and closing her fists as she thinks. "I'll be fine. Gather them in the High School gym. Some of them will probably need all day to get over the shock, if they can bring themselves to believe it at all. Make sure every ninja is gathered as well."

Jenny says soothingly, "At least we are almost ready to tell them anyways. They're at the edge of training that we can give them without going into chakra-based training."

"Just gather them," states Joyce. "Leave." They hurriedly clear the house. Joyce sighs, "It looks like I'm not the last after all."

**30 Minutes Later:**

The hyena pack and the elementary duo gather in the center of the gym. Owen is the last to arrive. The lighting is dimmer than usual with barely any sunlight coming through the high windows. "Is this the right place?" inquires one of the pack.

Owen shrugs, "The chairs are set up." They get seated. A few seconds later, the lights go out. A thick fog rises from the floor all around them. Owen looks alert but calm while the pack starts getting nervous.

"Is this even possible? Where are the smoke machines?" Kyle says loudly.

A voice says from the mist, "It's very possible." They turn around to see Zabuza stepping from the mist with a massive sword resting on his shoulder. He chuckles evilly.

Tsunade steps from the fog in front of them and states loudly, "It's time."

"Time for what?" Kit asks nervously.

"The Truth," Tsunade smiles. The mist immediately dissipates. Orochimaru and Jiraiya stand close behind her in a triangle formation. They look around and see people on the walls. Not leaning against the walls, but actually ON the walls! The pale-eyed Hyugas stare at the newcomers impassively from their perches on the wall. They look straight up and see even more of people hanging upside down on the ceiling, all staring at them. They are everywhere, all around! If there is a flat surface to be found, they are on it, no matter how it defies the law of gravity.

The dots connect in his head as pictures and short video clips of Naruto suddenly are mentally imposed over each and every ninja in the room. "No way. It's just a cartoon!"

From directly behind him, he hears Tara whisper dangerously, "Anime. Not a cartoon." He jumps from his seat and backs up.

"That's impossible! Weren't you just over…" he trails off as he looks to where she was. Nothing is there. "Where's my cousin when you need him?"

Kit tugs on his sleeve, "Carlos, what is it?"

"Kit…these are ninja. Real ninja!" Carlos practically shouts. Everyone stares at him, some in disbelief, others in amazement.

Tsunade smiles, "Take a seat, Carlos. This may take awhile to explain."

**One Hour Later:**

Tsunade frowns at the glazed eyes of most of the recruits. "Well, that's the long and short of it. It's a lot to take in, so you have the rest of the day off. Dismissed." They all get up to leave when Tsunade states, "Except for you, Kit. I would like to have a word with you."

After seeing and hearing all that she has, the young woman ops to not move a muscle from her seat. Ninja all over the room disappear into thin air. Tsunade comes up to her and places a hand on her shoulder, "Relax, Kit."

Kakashi places his hand on her other shoulder, "You should find this interesting." He makes a hand sign and they disappear, reappearing a minute or so later in the forest.

Joyce walks up to a large tree and places her hand on it. Looking up into the branches, she says slowly, "I know I didn't go into this much, but my Grandfather was the first Hokage. My uncle was fairly powerful too. Grandfather had a very special power. He could control trees; anything to do with wood. He created our village, a forest, by himself. He was the last of our clan that could activate that ability. It is an ability that only certain people of a family can do."

"What does this have to do with me?" Kit inquires. She recalls the Sharingan, Byukugan, the ice mirrors, all examples of the blood abilities. The Kekei Genkai."

Joyce sighs, removing her hand from the tree. She walks over to Kit and stares down into her eyes. "Because somehow, despite all odds, you have a Kekei Genkai."

"Which one?" Kit asks, her eyes getting wide.

Joyce states, "His. My grandfather's. You can manipulate wood."

The young woman stammers, "No I can't! That's impossible!"

"Just like ninjas like us are impossible," Angel interjects. "I know you can do it."

"How do you know that I can do it?" Kit asks quietly.

Angel responds slowly, "This morning, you were meditating under a tree. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me at first, but I watched you. The tree you were leaning against grew. The branches were expanding and new leaves were starting to form, very slowly, but faster than should be possible." He lifts up his eye patch and shows the swirling dots of his red eye. "My Sharingan showed me your energy being focused and accidentally directed into the tree. You have the power."

"Well…what do I do to use it?" Kit inquires.

"Let's start at what made it possible in the first place. Meditating," Joyce replies. "It's a good beginning. We know you can do it, it's just a matter of consciously controlling your earth and water natures." The blank look on Kit's face makes Joyce sigh. "You'll get the hang of it soon enough."

Angel says, "As we said in the gym, that is a lot to take in for one day. Let's take you home." A shoulder touch and hand sign later, she is home.

We May change the order of some things: author's note to selves

**Somewhere in Utah:**

Rupert Giles sits at a laptop, typing away to respond to his wide spy network. Stacks of paper surround the laptop on the table. A small messenger summoned toad sits next to him yapping away with the latest information from Sunnydale. Giles frowns as sites pop up on his screen. He clicks through them with the proficiency of Miss Calendar, thanks to the Jiraiyan influence overcoming his musty book standards.

"Repeat that," Giles states to the toad.

The small yellow toad sighs loudly and says, "The new recruits training is going well and the vampire population in Sunnydale are virtually nonexistent. The Missing Nin are generally keeping to the bigger cities on vampire hunts."

"Vampires always come," Giles says to himself. "It doesn't matter how many of them we kill, they always come. Something is keeping them away…or busy." He clicks through sites faster as he thinks. "If I didn't know any better, it looks like an information network in Sunnydale that isn't mine. It's well established. It has to pre-date mine otherwise I would have known about it." A picture of the first mayor pops up. Giles rubs his chin thoughtfully. A picture of the second mayor pops up. "That's impossible, isn't it? The vampires aren't staying away; they are being kept busy with activities in other cities! The vampire activity in L.A. and the surrounding areas has risen. Messenger, tell Lady Hokage to keep an eye on the Mayor! He's not who he seems." The toad nods and hops out the door. Giles' eyebrow twitches as an explosion echoes behind him followed by Andrew's war woops.

Dozens of Andrews jump around the side of the mountain, throwing sharp objects at each other. While small modified baseball shooting machines launch fast exploding balls at the Genin. "Come on, Pervy Sage!" shouts one of the Andrews. "This is too easy!" Two of the clones pop as balls hit them. "Or…maybe not. Never mind!"

**Watcher's Headquarters:**

Travers, head of the Watchers, calls out, "Something is going on in Sunnydale, California that Rupert Giles is not telling us."

"My sources say that vampire activity in that area has disappeared!" says another.

Another council member retorts, "Vampires are hardly the only threat there, sirs! Demons and monsters of all kinds flock there as well to try to open the Hellmouth. Kendra's Watcher has verified that! Would you call him a liar as well?"

**Flashback:**

Kendra's Watcher strolls into his apartment with his eyes glued to Kendra's latest reports. Her training is going well. Rupert Giles should be given more credit, it would seem. He pours himself a drink of fruit juice and heads into the main room. Sitting in his easy chair is a dark haired man with a patch over his eye. The stranger turns the page of the book he is reading. "Hello, sir. I am here to discuss your ward Kendra."

"What do you want? Who are you? Did the Watchers send you?" the Watcher demands, placing the paper aside on a shelf to confront the intruder.

The man sighs as he stands to his feet. "You could say that. I am a humble traveler. I have a request I was hoping you could help me with." He lifts his eye patch and states solemnly, "In fact, Kendra told me that you would be most accommodating."

**End Flashback:****  
**  
The councilman continues, "That Hellmouth is the most problematic of the Hellmouths on the planet! Both Slayers are needed there."

Travers responds, "My sources say differently. Even the Gypsies of Romania have sent out warnings to their associates to stay away from Sunnydale. I say we send our Slayer Kennedy and her Watcher Wesley to Sunnydale to investigate. Wesley is fiercely loyal to us and Kennedy is firmly under our control."

A council woman replies, "I agree. If there is nothing to hide, nothing will be discovered. If there is something that we don't know about, they will find it. Send them. All in favor raise your hands." Hands go up around the long table.

Travers intones, "Then it is agreed. Wesley and Kennedy are going to Sunnydale."

**Evening at the Mayor's Office:****  
**  
Mayor Wilkins strolls into his office whistling Dixie. The chair is facing away from him. He flips the light switch but nothing happens. He flips it up and down several times. He looks around, noticing a pile of dust with a gun sitting on top of it and the body of a demon next to it missing its head. He sighs and says, "Did you really have to kill my guards? They did not come cheap."

The chair turns around and Orochimaru coos, "They were less than cooperative with my requests to see you, Mayor Wilkins the Third, or should I say the First and Second as well?"

"You could do either. I was wondering when you were going to show up, Orochimaru," smiles the Mayor amiably. He sits on his desk, deftly snatching a jellybean from an overturned skull next to his name plate. Chewing on the jellybean, he mumbles, "What can I do for one of the Sannin?"

Orochimaru's eyes glow with interest. "I am so glad you asked."  
**  
**

* * *

**To be continue... in Serpents Rising.****  
**


End file.
